FAQ

General :

What is e-Procurement?Electronic procurement (e‐procurement) is use of electronic tools and systems to increase

efficiency and reduce costs during each stage of the purchasing process. It is the purchasing

of goods and services using the internet. It:

Covers full life cycle of purchasing (from indent to receipt of goods)

Connects buyers and suppliers through electronic exchange of Tenders, contracts,

POs, invoices etc

What is e-Tendering?Electronic Tendering is carrying out the traditional tendering process in an electronic form,

using the internet. E-tendering is the procurement process simply conducted online, i.e.

supplier registration/ creation, issuance, tender download, submission of bid, receipt &

opening of tenders.

What is e-Tendering portal?An e-Tendering Portal is a Web based application which offer services for e-tendering.

NPCIL officials / suppliers can access this portal either through a link provided at NPCIL’s

official web site or directly through URL https://npcil.etender.in, for floating of e-tender or to

participate in online bidding process.

Basic Requirements:

What are the basic requirements for using e-Tendering portal?Software :

i. Operating System

Window 7 Ultimate

Window 7 Professional

Window 7 Enterprises

Window XP (Service Pack 3 and Above)

ii. Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome

iii. Java 7 Update 67 (Updated 32 bit Java version & above)

iv. Installation of Digital Certificate setup (NxtCryptoSetup.msi)

v. E-token Utility

Hardware :

i. Minimum 1 GB RAM

ii. At least 80 GB hard disk

iii. Processor i3 or equivalent

An internet connection with minimum 512 Kbps speed

Digital certificate (Signing and Encryption both)

Login Id and password

What JAVA settings have to be done in the computer for using e-Tendering

portal? Scroll down to medium by clicking on Control Panel->Right click on Java->select

Open->Click on Security tab->Scroll down to medium

NxtCrypto setup Installed Nxtcrypto utility from NPCIL Website

Add URL: npcil.etenders.in-> System Requirement-> Download DC setup

And then installed.

Portal Enrollment:

How can I enroll myself on e-Procurement portal?It is one time process of filling a registration form by the vendor which may be accessed by

clicking upon "Portal enrollment for New Bidders" link available on e-Tendering Portal to

obtain their login ID & Password. This login ID & Password can be activated after

completing the system authentication through their email.

After activation kindly upload the relevant documents in support of your enrollment and map

your digital certificate. Please refer "Instructions to bidders" available under download of this

website for further clarity.

This login ID & Password can be used to participate in online bidding process.

If I am enrolled on e-Procurement portal, how long is it valid?Your enrollment is valid for a lifetime or as decided by NPCIL. You may access e-

Procurement portal only if you are not debarred/blacklisted by Tendering Authority.

What charges are to be paid for enrolment/support?THERE ARE NO CHARGES FOR SUPPORT OR ENROLMENT FOR THE NPCIL e-

TENDERING PORTAL.

I have enrolled my company on e-Procurement portal. Why I have not

received any confirmation mail?As you complete your enrollment, system generates a confirmation mail to your registered

email id. So if you have entered wrong email id you may not receive the registration

confirmation mail. Kindly Contact Help Desk for Assistance.

Digital Signature:

What is digital certificate? Why it is required?A digital signature is an electronic signature that can be used to authenticate the identity of

the sender of a message or the signer of a document, and to ensure that the original content of

the message or document that has been sent is unchanged. Digital signatures are easily

transportable, cannot be imitated by someone else, and can be automatically time-stamped. A

digital signature can be used with any kind of message, whether it is encrypted or plaintext.

As per Indian IT Act, 2000 use of valid digital certificate is mandatory for any e-Tendering

portal.

Major objectives for using digital certificate are as mentioned below:-

Authentication- Digital signatures are used to authenticate the source of messages. The

ownership of a digital signature key is bound to a specific user and thus a valid signature

shows that the message was sent by that user.

Integrity - In many scenarios, the sender and receiver of a message need assurance that the

message has not been altered during transmission. Digital Signatures provide this feature by

using cryptographic message digest functions

Non Repudiation – Digital signatures ensure that the sender who has signed the information

cannot at a later time deny having signed it.

To know more about digital certificate please visit www.cca.gov.in

What is the legal Validity of Digital Signatures?The Indian Information Technology Act 2000 (http://www.mit.gov.in/content/information-

technology-act) came into effect from October 17, 2000. One of the primary objectives of the

Information Technology Act of 2000 was to promote the use of Digital Signatures for

authentication in e-commerce & e-Governance. Towards facilitating this, the office of

Controller of Certifying Authorities (CCA) (www.cca.gov.in) was set up in 2000. The CCA

licenses Certifying Authorities (CAs) to issue Digital Signature Certificates (DSC) under the

IT Act 2000. The standards and practices to be followed were defined in the Rules and

Regulations under the Act and the Guidelines that are issued by CCA from time to time. The

Root Certifying Authority of India (RCAI) was set up by the CCA to serve as the root of trust

in the hierarchical Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) model that has been set up in the country.

The RCAI with its self-signed Root Certificate issues Public Key Certificates to the licensed

CAs and these licensed CAs in turn issue DSCs to end users.

Section 5 of the Act gives legal recognition to digital signatures based on asymmetric

cryptosystems. The digital signatures are now accepted at par with the handwritten signatures

and the electronic documents that have been digitally signed are treated at par with the paper

based documents.

An Amendment to IT Act in 2008 has introduced the term electronic signatures. The

implication of this Amendment is that it has helped to broaden the scope of the IT Act to

include other techniques for signing electronic records as and when technology becomes

available.

How do I get a valid digital certificate?You can get a valid digital certificate from any of the certifying authorities being authorized

by government of India. Below is the list of CAs

e-MudhraCA - www.e-Mudhra.com

TCS - www.tcs-ca.tcs.co.in

Safescrypt - www.safescrypt.com

NIC - www.nic.in (Only for Government Organisations)

IDBRT - www.idrbtca.org.in

iCertCA - www.icert.gov.in

GNFC - www.ncodesolutions.com

MTNL - www.mtnltrustline.com

What is e-token/USB token?e-Token is a hardware mechanism used for password authentication via using identity

management technique and provides hacking problem solution to the user. It looks similar to

pen drive and fixes in the USB port of the computer.

Security:

Is e-Tendering portal is secured?

Secured login: Unlike traditional website, e-Tendering portal requires login id,

password and valid digital certificate. Password is also stored in encrypted manner so

that it cannot be viewed by even system or database administrator.

Process Validation: The Solution has been so architected that a user (Department

Officers / Bidders) cannot view the commercial bid of any Bidder till the date & time

specified for the opening of the commercial bid is due.

Data Encryption: The solution supports 128 bit encryption and all the price bids

received against a tender are encrypted at the database level.

SSL: 128 bit SSL is being used for secure communication to take place between

browser and server.

Unauthorized access: The entire solution is behind a firewall and intrusion detection

system that protects it against unauthorized access and hacker

Compliance to Indian IT Act: The complete e-Tendering process is compliant with IT

Act, 2000 of the Govt.of India.

Tender Participation Related:

How to view tenders details and download the documents?Details of all Public Tenders (PT), Limited Tenders (LT), Single Tenders (ST) can be viewed

by anyone from the home page. Limited Tender (LT) or Single Tender (ST) participation is

allowed only to the intended bidders who shall be able to submit the bids.

However the Tenderers are required to meet the Qualification Criteria stipulated, if any,

under the tender. It may be noted that uploading of documentary evidence with respect to

qualifying requirements is mandatory.

How to logon to the e-Procurement portal?You need to enter correct login id, password and valid digital certificate to logon to the

website.

What to do if I forgot a password?You can use “forgot your password” functionality available on the home page. You need to

provide your email id. A system Generated email will be sent containing a link to reset your

password.

Can I use a same digital certificate with the different login ids?No, once a digital certificate is mapped with any of one login id the same digital certificate

can not be used with other login ids.

How do I change the password?After logging into the website. You can change your password by using change password

facility available under “My Profile>>Edit User Information”

Can I update my enrollment details?Yes, you can update your enrollment details by accessing “My Profile>>Edit User

Information” functionality after logging into the e-Procurement portal.

Which language I can use for tender submission?You can use English language only.

How to submit technical, prequalification supporting/reference

documents?You can upload and save all the supporting documents like past experience certificate, ISO

certificate etc in “My Briefcase” and can reuse and attach these any time for future tender

submission online.

Alternatively, You may upload supporting document along with tender itself without saving

in briefcase also.

What is the Maximum Size and type of documents allowed to be uploaded?Files with extensions [.pdf /.doc /.docx /.xls /.jpg /.jpeg /.png ] with maximum size 10MB are

allowed.

Can I attend the prebid meeting online?Yes, you can attend a prebid online during the prebid meeting time specified in a tender, if

the mode of pre-bid meeting is decided as online by NPCIL.

How do I come to know about any corrigendum/addendum published in a

tender?System displays the corrigendum count for each tender. System increases the count as any

corrigendum / Amendment is published. You can view the complete corrigendum /

Amendment details by clicking on corrigendum / Amendment link.

How to submit technical, price bid online? Do I need to scan the technical

& price bid and to upload it?After logging into the website, you need to fill in required fields details in the bidding format

available in the system only. Don't upload scanned price bid documents.

Can I access the e-Procurement portal on any date, any time?Yes, you may access e-Procurement portal on any date and any time except maintenance time

period.

Till what time I can submit a tender online?You need to “Check & Submit Bid” of a tender (dropping a tender in Electronic Time

Stamped Tender Box) as per the submission end date & time mentioned in a tender notice of

respective tender. System would not accept any tender once the submission date & time is

lapsed.

Important Note : Bidders are advised to submit their bids well in time to avoid any last

minute hindrance.

How secure my data is before doing a “Check & Submit Bid” of a tender?While preparing a technical & price bid, the data is encrypted with your public key before

submission of a data to the server. This data can only be decrypted with your own private

key.

How secure my data is after doing a “Check & Submit Bid”?At the time of “Check & Submit Bid”, your data is encrypted with the concern government

officer's public key and stored in the database. This data can only be decrypted using that

government officer's private key after tender opening date & time.

What if I accidentally submit the same tender twice?System doesn't allow you to accidently submit same tender twice. But if you want to edit the

already submitted offer you can ‘Rework’ your tender and resubmit within due date and time.

Is it necessary to submit a complete tender in one go?No, you may prepare technical bid, price bid phase wise. i.e. you may prepare and save your

bid and later on you can do final submission of a complete tender.

How do I confirm that my tender is submitted successfully?

On successful completion of final submission of a tender, system generates an online receipt

which is a proof of online final submission.

How to submit tender document fees?As per the instructions given in the tender notice, you may submit tender document fees

online for online tender and offline for manual tenders.

How can I track the status of my tender? Can I attend tender opening

online?IN NPCIL YOU CAN PARTICIPATE IN RESULT SHARING IN CASE OF PUBLIC

TENDERS and LIMITED TENDERS. You can see the Price bids of all the bidders.

Feedback/Complain/Suggestion

We always appreciate feedback/complain/suggestion from our users. You can send details on

support.npcil@nextenders.com , In case the problem is not resolved forward the same email to

etender@npcil.co.in Or you may contact us:

Nextenders (India) Pvt. Ltd.

Contact No: Helpdesk Support: - 020 -30187500

NPCIL EMAIL ID FOR COMMUNICATION SPECIFIC TO TENDERS OR ANY OTHER QUERY PERTAINING TO TENDERS FOR RESPECTIVE SITES:

Mumbai HQ : edcmm_tender@npcil.co.in KAPS : etquerieskaps@npcil.co.in

RR site : etqueries.rrs@npcil.co.in MAPS : etender.cmmmaps@npcil.co.in

TMS : cmm.tms@npcil.co.in KGS : cmm_kgs@npcil.co.in

NAPS : headcmmnapstender@npcil.co.in KKNPP : cmmtenders@kknpp.com

For any general clarification : etender@npcil.co.in

Common Errors:

Issue Reported ON NPCIL

1. ‘Certificate Does not have permission ‘error while Load Certificate

Proper E token Driver not installed or user system doesn’t have administrator privilege

2. ‘Select Proper Certificate from the list’ issue while doing login

If user select another certificate than user assign certificate

3. Single tender is not visible to vendor after login

Single tender is available in limited tender tab and if in limited tab tender is not available then another user is assigned to tender.

4. Offline Single tender is not visible after login as they got invitation mail

Offline Single tender is available in limited tender tab. And if not available in limited tab then Mail id is wrong or otherwise username is different.

5. Java Pop Ups are not coming after login

Check Java setting Control Panel->Right click on Java->select Open->Click on Security tab->Scroll down to medium

6. Certificate Pop Up is not coming while doing Load certificate

Check Java setting Control Panel->Right click on Java->select Open->Click on Security tab->Scroll down to medium

7. Can’t Create Object Error is coming while login

Nxtcrypto Utility is not installed on user system Add URL: npcil.etenders.in-> System

Requirement-> Download DC setup

And then installed.

8. Report is not Showing After Opening.

Only Commercial report is showing after opening for those vendor who submitted bid or proceed for bid preparation

9. Email is not triggered after registration .

Email Address is not valid or Internet connection is slow

10. Forgot Password link is not active Message come when vendor to Forgot password

If user click on forgot password link many times. User should check recent forgot password mail

11. Invalid Username and Password Issue.

Either Username is wrong or password is wrong

12. . Email id Change

User should not change primary mail id from front end. user should have to send mail to support team

13. Decryption Fail :- Invalid Key Pair Issue

If user used Wrong encryption certificate for encryption

14. User does not have Administrator Privilege

This error Occur when User is not login with administrator user