Tender Highlights at a Glance

The GeM record gives the bid closing time as 11 September 2026 at 20:00:00 and bid opening as 12 September 2026 at 20:00:00.

Scope of Work

The selected agency will provide mentoring, training and skill-mapping services for approximately 534 second-year students enrolled in IIM Bodh Gaya's full-time residential MBA, MBA-DBM and MBA-HHM programmes. The assignment is scheduled to be completed over eight months, from August 2026 to March 2027, while the stated contract period is initially one year.

1. Career Readiness, Skill Mapping & AI-Enabled Learning

The agency is expected to conduct:

1. AI-enabled employability assessments.
2. Skill-gap analysis.
3. Company and job-description analysis.
4. Personalized learning pathways.
5. Skill-gap-based recommendations.
6. Interview-readiness support.
7. Real-time progress tracking through an AI-enabled learning platform.

2. Resume, Email and Cover Letter Development

The scope includes:

1. In-person resume-building workshops.
2. Development of at least five ATS-compliant specialization/domain-specific resumes per student.
3. Resume reviews.
4. Email-writing guidance.
5. Cover-letter guidance.
6. Personalized feedback throughout the placement cycle.

3. Case Study and Guesstimate Preparation

The selected agency will conduct workshops covering:

1. Business case studies.
2. Consulting frameworks.
3. Guesstimates.
4. Market sizing.
5. Problem-solving techniques.
6. Live practice sessions.
7. Expert feedback.

4. Interview Preparation and Mock Interviews

The tender requires:

1. Interview preparation workshops.
2. AI-enabled mock interviews.
3. HR mock interviews.
4. Technical and domain-specific mock interviews.
5. Structured feedback on technical, behavioural and communication skills.
6. Personalized improvement recommendations.

5. Communication Skills and Group Discussions

Training is required in:

1. Business communication.
2. Presentation skills.
3. Professional etiquette.
4. Written communication.
5. Verbal communication.
6. Group discussions.
7. Case-based mock GDs.

6. Placement Support

The agency is required to provide value-added placement support by facilitating a minimum of 25 actionable placement leads, in accordance with the institute's placement-support guidelines.

The selected agency must also nominate a dedicated Project Manager, provide required software licences, AI platforms, learning resources and dashboards without additional cost, maintain confidentiality of institute/student data, and participate in monthly review meetings.

Professional Qualification and Technical Evaluation Criteria

The tender places considerable emphasis on relevant institutional experience, trainer credentials and the bidder's presentation.

Relevant Institutional Experience

The bidder must have at least two years of experience providing mentoring, training and skill-mapping services to at least two institutions during the last two financial years.

The qualifying institutions may include:

1. Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs);
2. Management institutions ranked among the Top 30 in NIRF Management Category 2025; or
3. Management institutions in India accredited by AACSB/EQUIS-EFMD/AMBA-BGA.

Relevant work orders/contracts/agreements and work-completion certificates are mandatory.

Trainer Credentials

Trainer credentials form part of the technical scoring. The RFP states that education and corporate experience of proposed trainers will be assessed, with premium-institute training/mentorship experience preferred.

The scoring based on trainer count is:

The bidder must provide details of trainer educational qualifications, corporate experience and training experience.

Presentation

The bidder's presentation carries 70 marks, with a 50-mark cutoff. Overall technical evaluation has a 100-mark maximum and 60-mark minimum qualifying score.

The QCBS model assigns:

1. Technical Bid: 70%
2. Financial Bid: 30%

Only technically qualified bidders meeting the applicable cutoff proceed to financial evaluation.

Eligibility Criteria

According to the RFP, bidders must satisfy the following requirements:

1. Minimum two years' relevant experience.
2. Experience with at least two qualifying institutions.
3. Relevant work orders/contracts/agreements and completion certificates.
4. Registration as a Company, LLP, Partnership Firm, Society, Trust or other organization incorporated under applicable Indian laws.
5. Valid GST and PAN certificates.
6. Required non-blacklisting declaration.
7. An online platform capable of conducting AI-based mock interviews and aptitude/domain-specific tests and generating performance reports.
8. Minimum average annual turnover of ₹50 lakh during the last two financial years, supported by CA-certified statements.

The RFP also specifically requires the bidder to declare its previous litigation history, if any, in the technical bid.

Financial Criteria

Minimum Average Annual Turnover

The detailed RFP requires minimum average annual turnover of ₹50 lakh during the last two financial years, supported by Chartered Accountant certification. The technical bid format specifically identifies FY 2024–25 and FY 2025–26 for turnover reporting.

Important tender-review note: The GeM bid details display the minimum average annual turnover criterion as ₹50 lakh for three years, whereas the detailed RFP specifies the turnover for the last two financial years. Bidders should therefore verify the applicable requirement on the live GeM bid and follow any corrigendum/clarification issued by IIM Bodh Gaya.

Net Worth

No specific minimum net worth requirement is stated in the supplied RFP.

Estimated Contract Value

The RFP gives an approximate annual contract value of ₹32 lakh, while the GeM bid records an estimated bid value of ₹32,00,000 inclusive of taxes.

Tender Fee and EMD

Tender Fee

Tender Fee: Not separately specified in the supplied RFP.

The RFP clearly specifies an EMD of ₹64,000 but does not state a separate tender-document fee in the relevant tender details reviewed. Bidders should check the live GeM listing and any subsequent corrigendum before submission.

EMD

The required Earnest Money Deposit is ₹64,000.

The RFP permits EMD through:

• Demand Draft;
• Banker's Cheque; or
• NEFT/RTGS.

The EMD must remain valid for at least 180 days.

EMD Exemption

Yes.

Firms registered with NSIC, MSME or DPIIT for the relevant services are exempted from EMD, subject to submission of valid self-attested registration certificate(s).

EMD Mode – Online or Offline?

The RFP provides both instrument-based and electronic payment options:

• DD/Banker's Cheque – instrument-based;
• NEFT/RTGS – electronic.

Therefore, the EMD is not restricted to online payment only. Proof/details of EMD must be submitted with the technical bid.

Key Tender Requirements Table

Tender Dates and Important Deadlines

The RFP itself leaves publication, bid-start, bid-close and technical-opening dates as “As per GEM Portal.” The GeM bid record supplies the operative closing and opening dates and identifies the bid as dated 04 September 2026.

Pre-bid clarification: The supplied RFP does not list a separate pre-bid meeting date/time. Instead, tender-related queries are directed through the representation option on the GeM Portal.

Submission Guidelines

The tender must be submitted online through the GeM Portal. No hard copy of the tender/bid is to be submitted. The RFP requires a two-bid system consisting of a Technical Bid and Financial Bid.

Technical Bid

The bidder should:

1. Prepare the technical proposal in the prescribed format.
2. Number the pages.
3. Place the Index/Compliance Sheet at the beginning.
4. Upload the supporting documents in PDF format.
5. Ensure documents are signed and stamped by the authorized signatory as required.
6. Upload EMD proof/details or applicable exemption documentation.
7. Ensure the financial rates are not disclosed in the technical proposal.

Disclosure of financial rates in the technical bid may lead to rejection.

The bidder is also advised to log in well before the closing time because responsibility for delays in uploading the bid rests with the bidder.

Document Checklist for IIM Bodh Gaya Tender

The following checklist has been prepared from the RFP's online-bid submission requirements and Annexures.

Technical Bid Checklist

1. Index / Compliance Sheet – Annexure-I
2. Technical Bid – Annexure-II
3. EMD proof/details – Annexure-A, or valid EMD exemption certificate where applicable
4. Acceptance of Terms & Conditions – Annexure-III
5. PAN card/certificate of the firm, where applicable
6. GST Registration Certificate
7. Bank Mandate Form for Electronic Fund Transfer/RTGS – Annexure-VIII/VII as referenced in the tender
8. Experience details – Annexure-IV
9. Relevant work orders/contracts/agreements
10. Work completion/performance certificates
11. Turnover proof – Annexure-V
12. CA-certified turnover statements
13. FY 2024–25 turnover details
14. FY 2025–26 turnover details
15. Non-blacklisting self-declaration – Annexure-VI
16. Complete RFP document duly signed and stamped
17. Signed/stamped addendum or corrigendum, if any
18. Supporting documents establishing eligibility
19. Details of proposed trainers, including educational qualifications, corporate experience and training experience
20. Technical presentation/proposal covering methodology, coverage and deliverables
21. Details of AI-enabled platform capability
22. Litigation details, if applicable
23. Any additional certificate/document requested by IIM Bodh Gaya

The RFP's submission table specifically requires the technical bid index, technical proposal, EMD proof, acceptance of terms, PAN, GST, electronic-transfer mandate, experience documentation, turnover proof, non-blacklisting declaration and signed RFP/addenda.

The Annexure-I compliance sheet further requires bidders to demonstrate EMD, relevant experience, legal constitution, GST/PAN, non-blacklisting, AI-platform capability, turnover, signed tender documents, acceptance declaration and bank mandate compliance.

Financial Bid

The financial/price bid must be submitted electronically on the portal in accordance with the tender specifications and within the prescribed deadline. No alternative submission mode is permitted after expiry of the online submission time.

Only bidders qualifying through the technical evaluation will proceed to financial evaluation. The final selection is based on the QCBS methodology, with technical and financial scores weighted at 70% and 30%, respectively.

Tender Evaluation: What Bidders Should Know

The tender has a strong quality-oriented evaluation structure.

The technical evaluation includes:

1. Relevant institutional experience – up to 15 marks.
2. Trainer credentials – up to 15 marks.
3. Bidder presentation – up to 70 marks.
4. Total technical score – 100 marks.
5. Minimum technical qualifying score – 60 marks.

Technically qualified bidders will be considered for financial opening. The bidder obtaining the highest final QCBS score is intended to be declared successful, subject to the institute's terms and conditions.

Important Contract Conditions

The contract is initially for one year and may be extended on a yearly basis subject to satisfactory performance and applicable terms. The assignment is also described as extendable on a pro-rata basis depending on student count.

The successful bidder must provide 3% of the contract value as Performance Security.

Payment is milestone-based, including stages linked to onboarding/programme commencement and final-placement milestones. The RFP states that no advance payment will be made.

Tender Analysis for Prospective Bidders

From a tender-consulting perspective, this opportunity is particularly relevant for agencies with a demonstrated track record in management education, employability training, placement preparation, executive mentoring and AI-enabled assessment platforms.

The technical scoring indicates that bidders should not focus only on meeting the minimum eligibility conditions. The largest component of the technical evaluation is the bidder presentation, carrying 70 marks. Therefore, the technical proposal should clearly demonstrate:

1. Proposed delivery methodology.
2. Student engagement model.
3. AI-enabled learning and assessment capabilities.
4. Resume and interview preparation methodology.
5. Trainer strength and trainer profiles.
6. Institutional experience.
7. Placement-support strategy.
8. Measurable deliverables and monitoring mechanisms.
9. Proposed project-management structure.
10. Alignment with IIM Bodh Gaya's placement objectives.

The RFP specifically requires bidders to explain coverage, pedagogy, methodology and deliverables for each module in the technical proposal.

Key Takeaways

1. IIM Bodh Gaya is seeking an agency for mentorship and training services for AY 2026–27.
2. The assignment covers approximately 534 second-year MBA, MBA-DBM and MBA-HHM students.
3. Estimated contract value is approximately ₹32 lakh per annum.
4. ₹64,000 EMD is prescribed.
5. Eligible NSIC/MSME/DPIIT-registered firms may claim EMD exemption with supporting registration documents.
6. Minimum relevant experience is 2 years.
7. Minimum turnover is ₹50 lakh, although the detailed RFP and GeM display differ on the number of years used for turnover calculation.
8. No minimum net worth requirement is specified in the supplied RFP.
9. No separate tender fee is stated in the supplied RFP.
10. Bid submission is online only through GeM.
11. The procurement uses a two-bid system and QCBS.
12. Technical evaluation carries 70% weightage, financial evaluation 30%.
13. Minimum technical qualifying score is 60/100.
14. GeM bid closing is 11 September 2026 at 8:00 PM.
15. GeM bid opening is 12 September 2026 at 8:00 PM.
16. No separate pre-bid meeting is specified in the supplied RFP; queries are to be handled through the GeM representation mechanism.
17. Bidders should monitor GeM/IIM Bodh Gaya for corrigenda or changes to the tender schedule. The RFP specifically advises bidders to account for corrigenda before submission.

Consultation & Advisory

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