S. No. Clause No. Page No. Clause Query Bank Response
1 Gen 5 Last date of bid submission
We would request you to extend submission date
of the RFP by a week as we need additional time to
process the EMD as per requirements stated in the
RFP document. The delay has been due to financial
closing towards the end of March.
Last date and time for submission of
bidding documents extended up to
18.04.2019 16:00 hrs
2 4 9
Bank will shortlist two SMS aggregators (i.e.
L1, L2) in the ratio of 70:30 who can handle
domestic and international SMS of predicted
volumes with delivery standards as per the
SLA proposed and is able to conform to the
technical specifications.
Will the SMS Middleware only be provided by L1?
Who is responsible for managing the traffic ratio?
L1 bidder has to provide software
with capability to split traffic at no
additional cost to the bank. L1 and L2
bidder should install such software at
DR Site also at no additional cost to
the bank.
3 6 10 Eligibility Criteria I would like to know that the bidder must have a
branch office as a support in Mumbai? Otherwise
the bidder is not qualify to participate?
Yes.
4 6.7 10
Bidder should have direct connectivity/tie
up/arrangement with minimum three
domestic telecom service providers for
delivering message to domestic numbers
(even when they are on International
Roaming) with minimum period of one year as
on date of submission of RFP. List of
aggregators/ telecom operators and the
countries each of them is connected with is
required to be submitted and copy of relevant
documentary proof should be submitted.
regarding proof of direct connectivity with
domestic telecom service providers, a letter issued
by the telecom service provider on their letter-
head along with stamp and authorised signature
will suffice
Please be guided by RFP
Responses to Queries Raised by Prospective Bidders of RFP for Selection of SMS Aggregator for Delivery of
Domestic & International SMS
LAST DATE OF BID SUBMISSION EXTENDED UP TO 18.04.2019 16:00 Hrs
1 of 8 pages
5 6.8 11
Bidder should have a capability to handle at
least 100 lac Real Time SMS alerts per day for
banking transactions of Banks. Purchase Order
/ Performance certificate is required to be
submitted.
It should be consolidated banking SMS traffic and
upto 30 Lac per day Please be guided by RFP
6 6.8 12
Initial contract period will be for 5 years.
Thereafter contract may be extended based
on mutually agreed rates and terms &
conditions. There should not be any price
escalation during the contract period.
However any downward revision in IUC
charges, Government Levies etc, the same will
be passed to the Bank on proportionate basis.
Please consider price revision based on any new
regulations published by TRAI / Telecom operators.
These are not in aggregator's control
Please be guided by RFP
7 8.5 13
Sender ID allotted should be unique for our
Bank and same should not be used by any
other entity across the globe. Vendor need to
submit the declaration for the same.
we can guarantee that Sender ID allotted will be
unique and not used by any other entity for any
SMS originating from our platform. However, we
do not have control of SMS originating from any
other platform
This clause should be read as "Sender
ID allotted should be unique for our
Bank and same should not be used by
any other entity across the globe
through L1/L2 bidder. L1/L2 bidders
need to submit the declaration for
the same."
8 8 13
The solution should be supplied by L1 bidder
and should have the following feature.
Solution of L2 bidder should have capability to
integrate with solution provided by L1.
How does bank intend to split the traffic.
L1 bidder has to provide software
with capability to split traffic at no
additional cost to the bank. L1 and L2
bidder should install such software at
DR Site also at no additional cost to
the bank.
9 8.2 13
The API should support encryption-decryption
for the entire API parameters supporting DES/
3DES/ AES algorithm
Can we support data transfer over SSL secure
channel?Please be guided by RFP
10 8.24 15
L1 / L2 bidder should have provision to split
the traffic and deliver the messages to their
respective SMS gateway.
L1 will provide the infrastructure & L2 will only
provide connectivityPlease be guided by RFP
2 of 8 pages
11 9 15
Bank shall provide Hardware, Operating
System for hosting required software to the
bidder. The Application/tool should be hosted
on Banks on-premise Cloud Infrastructure at
DC, Mumbai & DR site Bangalore. Bidder has
to provide hardware and system requirement
as per Annexure I. Bidder has to suggest
optimal Hardware requirement to meet
present and future needs (next 5 years) of the
Bank.
Does the Bank want an on-premise appliction to
process SMS or does the bidder have to provide
only APIs?
L1 bidder has to provide software to
process SMS/Voice OTP/Whatsapp
messages.
12 8.24 15 8.24. L1 / L2 bidder should have provision to
split the traffic and deliver the messages to
their respective SMS gateway.
Will L2 also place middleware at the Bank?
Yes. L1 bidder should place
middleware at DC & DR. L2 bidder
should place middleware at DR which
would be used in case of
requirement.
13 8.19 15The bidder should provide the archives of all
the messages sent to their gateway with the
delivery status in a CD/ DVD on monthly basis.
Can we enable this process on SFTP instead of
CD/DVD data transfer?Please be guided by RFP
14 10 16 Compliance with IS/Cyber Security Policy
The Bidder is expected to follow Bank's IS &
Cyber Security Policy. Please note that every
organization has its own policy in regards to
Information Security & Cyber Security. The Bidder
shouldn’t be forced to implement the security
policy as laid out by the Bank.
Please be guided by RFP
15 14 16
Price Validity
Prices payable to the successful bidder as
stated in the Contract shall be firm and not
subject to any changes at any circumstances
during the contract period of five years
Please consider price revision based on any new
regulations published by TRAI / Telecom operators.
These are not in aggregator's control
Please be guided by RFP
3 of 8 pages
16
10.
Compliance
with
IS/Cyber
Security
Policy
16
Some of the key areas are as under:
10.1. Responsibilities for data and application
privacy and confidentiality
10.2. Responsibilities on system and software
access control and administration
10.3. Custodial responsibilities for data,
software, hardware and other assets of the
Bank being managed by or assigned to the
Vendor
10.4. Physical Security of the facilities
10.5. Physical and logical separation from
other customers of the Vendor
10.6. Incident response and reporting
procedures
10.7. Password Policy of the Bank
10.8. Data Encryption/Protection
requirements of the Bank.
10.9. In general, confidentiality, integrity and
availability must be ensured.
Do we have to comply with the bank policy, which
we don’t have now for review on the mentioned
points? Will it be in the guideline of ISO 27001?
Please be guided by RFP
17 17.1.1 17
The bidder should deposit bid security of
Rs.1,50,00,000/- (Rupees One Crore fifty Only)
in the form of a demand draft favoring Union
Bank of India, payable at Mumbai or Bank
Guarantee issued from Scheduled Commercial
Bank other than Union Bank of India. Bank
Guarantee should be valid for minimum 6
months from the date of issuance of RFP with
minimum claim period of 60 days.
EMD amount of Rs. 1.5 cr is too high. Request you
to kindly reconsider reducing the samePlease be guided by RFP
4 of 8 pages
18
17.1. Bid
Security/
EMD
(Refundable
)
17
17.1.1. The bidder should deposit bid security
of Rs.1,50,00,000/- (Rupees One Crore fifty
Only) in the form of a demand draft favoring
Union Bank of India, payable at Mumbai or
Bank Guarantee issued from Scheduled
Commercial Bank other than Union Bank of
India. Bank Guarantee should be valid for
minimum 6 months from the date of issuance
of RFP with minimum claim period of 60 days.
Can we reduce the EMD value from 1.5 Crores to a
lesser value? SBI EMD value was Rs. 20,00,000 for
SMS Tender
Please be guided by RFP
19 17.2 18 Performance Bank Guarantee (PBG
the Performance Bank Guarantee of 10% of TCO
(working out to approximately 10cr) is too high.
Request you to kindly reconsider reducing the
same
Please be guided by RFP
20 23 28 Pre bid Meeting
Yesterday was the pre-bid meeting which I just
aware. Therefore, for those bidder/vendor who did
not participate the pre-bid meeting can they still
participate ?
Non- attendance at the Pre-bid
Meeting will not be a cause for
disqualification of a bidder.
21 29.3 31Information SMSes/Voice/Whatsapp messages
delivered to mobile handset after 1 hour
promotional content needs to be whitelisted with
OEM. The same is subject to timelines and
approval by WhatsApp
It refers to contents which are
whitelisted with OEM/Whatsapp.
22 29.3 31
Promotional SMSes Voice/Whatsapp messages
delivered to mobile handset after 2 hours
(excluding the block period defined as per
TRAI guidelines)
promotional content needs to be whitelisted with
OEM. The same is subject to timelines and
approval by WhatsApp
It refers to contents which are
whitelisted with OEM/Whatsapp.
23 29 31 SLA
Scheduled Maintenances at the bidder's end
should be considered as excluded from the
downtime penalty if informed to Bank in advance
by a week.
Bidder is expected to have DR Setup
to ensure continuity as per RFP
Clause 31.
24 29.4 32 29.4 Penalty for fall in success Rate:
The penalty for Fall in success rate for delivery
percentage of SMS should only be put on OTP and
Transactional messages and not bulk / information
/ promotional messages
Please be guided by RFP
5 of 8 pages
25 33.1 33
33.1. L1 Bidder should deploy one onsite
resource during the contract period with
adequate skill set and experience for
monitoring and management of the proposed
solution during office hours. However in case
of need or emergent situation it must be
extended on Sundays/Holidays also. The
deputed resources should manage and
maintain software as per the agreement. Bank
reserves the right to claim change in resource
based on the performance of the resources.
Will only L1 deploy the onsite resource? Please be guided by RFP
26
Annexure C
– Eligibility
Criteria
45
Bidder should have been offering SMS
Aggregation services in at least one
PSB/Scheduled Commercial Bank in India at
the time of issuance of the RFP and should
have been in the SMS Aggregation business in
India for last 3 years as on date of issue of RFP.
In case of a Telco , Telcos have all banks route the
SMC through their networks . So this is not
applicable for Telcos.
"In case the bidder is TSP , they need to give a self-
declaration on having the capability of serving any
bank"
Please be guided by RFP
27Annexure C -
Clause 745
Bidder should have direct connectivity/tie
up/arrangement with minimum three
domestic telecom service providers for
delivering message to domestic numbers
(even when they are on International
Roaming) with minimum period of one year as
on date of submission of RFP.
Do we provide a certificate from operators from
when they are connected with us to provide the
one year condition?
Any relevent Document proof such as
agreement, certificate etc can be
submitted.
28Annexure C -
Clause 846
Bidder should have a capability to handle at
least 100 lac Real Time SMS alerts per day for
banking transactions of Banks.
Are invoices raised to banks ok to submit?
Invoices which are accepted by Bank
with proper stamp and signature of
Bank Officials will be considered.
6 of 8 pages
29
Annexure D
(A) - clause
11
49
Sender ID allotted should be unique for our
Bank and same should not be used by any
other entity across the globe. Vendor need to
submit the declaration for the same.
There is no central repository for sender IDs as of
today, we cannot guarantee the sender ID will not
be used by another entity.
Refer response serial number 7 to this
corrigendum
30Annexure D
(A) - 1349
Bidder should have solution to send voice over
OTP. Voice over OTP need to be send in case
of failure of OTP through SMS
What is the Voice Pulse rate to be considered for
configuration and commercials? 30 seconds pulse?
Refer revised Annexure E and
Anneuxure F as provided with this
corrigendum.
31
Annexure D
(A) - clause
19
50
SMS Solution should be ready to be integrated
with Whatsapp (Android, iOS & Windows OS)
functionality with authorized tie up/license
with OEM.
Please explain the requirements for WhatsApp
messages further. Will WhatsApp messages be sent
to only Domestic numbers? WhatsApp has
different commercials for India and other
countries.
Refer revised Annexure E and
Anneuxure F as provided with this
corrigendum.
32Annexure D
(A) - 1950
SMS Solution should be ready to be integrated
with Whatsapp (Android, iOS & Windows OS)
functionality and should have authorized tie
up/license with OEM.
Is this authorized tie up with WhatsApp? Yes.
33 56.7 51Cost for one onsite resource post Go live of
project
L2 will have to match prices of L1 for each line
item. Cost of one onsite resource post Go live of
project will be considered only if applicable
L2 bidder has to match the Bill of
Material itemwise in all respect with
Bill of Material of L1 bidder post
reverse auction.
7 of 8 pages
34 10 81
10. Price Fall Clause
The Bidder undertakes that it has not supplied
/is not supplying same or similar
product/systems or subsystems at a price
lower than that offered in the present Bid in
respect of any other Ministry /Department of
the Government of India or PSU or Coal India
Ltd and its subsidiaries during the currency of
the contract and if it is found at any stage that
same or similar product /Systems or
Subsystems was supplied by the Bidder to any
other Ministry /Department of the
Government of India or a PSU or any Public
Sector Bank at a lower price during the
currency of the contract, then that very price
will be applicable to the present case and the
difference in the cost would be refunded by
the Bidder to the Buyer, if the contract has
already been concluded”.
Please note, as per TRAI, some sender IDs are
exempted from Termination charges. However,
this clause would not be applicable to non-
exempted Sender IDs. Bidder is servicing SMS
Services for a lot of Government entities which
have their sender IDs exempted, therefore kindly
let us know the approach on this clause.
Please be guided by RFP
35 GenGeneral
What would be the Data Retention /Purging Policy
for UBI ?
Data and Logs should be retained for
the contract period.
8 of 8 pages
Revised Annexure E – Un-priced Indicative Commercial Bid
S.
No.
Item Description
(SMS/Voice/whatsapp
Messages is to be delivered
with time specified as per
SLA)
Unit cost
(Cost Per
SMS in
Rupees)
(a)
Number of
SMS per
month
(Bank’s
estimated
Volumes)
(b)
Cost for contract
period of 5 years
in Rupees.
(c)= a x b x 12 x 5
(excluding taxes)
Submitted
(Yes/No)
1 Charges for Domestic OTPs XX 2,00,00,000 XX
2 Charges for Domestic
financial transactional SMSs XX 10,00,00,000 XX
3
Charges for Domestic
informational / promotional
SMSs
XX 4,00,00,000 XX
4
Charges for International
SMSs (OTP, Financial
Transactions, informational/
promotional)
XX 2,40,000* XX
5
Charges for Domestic
Whatsapp messages
compatible with Android,
iOS & Windows OS.
XX 5,00,000 XX
6
Charges for International
Whatsapp messages
compatible with Android,
iOS & Windows OS.
XX 2,40,000* XX
7
Charges for Domestic voice
over OTP (for 30 Seconds
Pulse)
XX 10,00,000 XX
8
Charges for International
voice over OTP (for 30
Seconds Pulse)
XX 2,40,000* XX
9 Response Push for the
VMN Numbers XX 60,00,000 XX
10 Missed call charge for the
VMN Numbers XX 60,00,000 XX
11
Cost for one onsite
resource post Go live of
project.
XX 1 (Month) XX
12 Rental charges for every
single additional VMN
numbers**
XX 1 (Month) XX
Total Cost to Ownership
(TCO) XX
TCO in words XXX
Notes:
1. TCO must be quoted in Indian Rupees and in WORDS AND FIGURES exclusive of
taxes and it is valid for five years.
2. In case of any discrepancy, TCO quoted in words will be considered.
3. The price quoted should be inclusive of Cost of deliverables, Enterprise
License, installation, customization, maintenance and support of mentioned
Software in this RFP as per Bank’s requirement.
4. Payment will be made on monthly basis as per the mentioned Payment Terms.
5. Bank will not consider any conditions mentioned in the commercial bid. Bank
reserve the right to disqualify the bidder if any deviation/conditions are
mentioned in the commercial bid.
6. All the prices are mandatory to be quoted else bid is liable to be rejected.
7. Vendor need to provide the software without any extra cost and do
integration/migration with Bank’s existing Infrastructure/software.
8. The prices should include implementation cost, software tools, 24*7*365
support and any other cost required to implement the solution successfully.
Bank will not pay any Labour charges, incidental chargers, installation of
Software, commissioning of solution separately. All such costs, if any, should be
absorbed in the TCO.
9. *Country-wise breakup for the total number of international SMS /Voice OTP/
Whatsapp message is provided as Annexure T.
10. Number of SMS/Voice OTP/Whatsapp messages/Response push/Missed call
mentioned above is indicative only and may increase or decrease as per the
actual requirement of the Bank. Number of SMS/Voice OTP/Whatsapp
messages/Response push/Missed call mentioned is only for calculation of TCO.
11. Cost of the resource is fixed for the entire contract period. Bank may take
additional resources as required during the contract period at the same cost.
12. **Rental charges for every single additional VMN numbers which would be
required in future for the bank in addition to the 10 VMN numbers provided
freely by the successful bidders in the ratio of L1:L2::7:3. Bank will purchase
any number of additional VMN numbers during the contract period at the cost
discovered. In case of expiry of contract or termination of the contract due to
any reason, the bidders have to surrender these additional virtual mobile
numbers to the Bank.
Authorized Signatory:
Place: Name & Designation & mail id :
Date: Business Address:
Revised Annexure F – Indicative Commercial Bid
S.
No.
Item Description
(SMS/Voice/whatsapp
Messages is to be delivered
with time specified as per
SLA)
Unit cost
(Cost Per
SMS in
Rupees)
(a)
Number of
SMS per
month
(Bank’s
estimated
Volumes)
(b)
Cost for contract
period of 5 years
in Rupees.
(c)= a x b x 12 x 5
(excluding taxes)
Submitted
(Yes/No)
1 Charges for Domestic OTPs 2,00,00,000
2 Charges for Domestic
financial transactional SMSs 10,00,00,000
3
Charges for Domestic
informational / promotional
SMSs
4,00,00,000
4
Charges for International
SMSs (OTP, Financial
Transactions, informational/
promotional)
2,40,000*
5
Charges for Domestic
Whatsapp messages
compatible with Android,
iOS & Windows OS.
5,00,000
6
Charges for International
Whatsapp messages
compatible with Android,
iOS & Windows OS.
2,40,000*
7
Charges for Domestic voice
over OTP (for 30 Seconds
Pulse)
10,00,000
8
Charges for International
voice over OTP (for 30
Seconds Pulse)
2,40,000*
9 Response Push for the
VMN Numbers 60,00,000
10 Missed call charge for the
VMN Numbers 60,00,000
11
Cost for one onsite
resource post Go live of
project.
1 (Month)
12 Rental charges for every
single additional VMN
numbers**
1 (Month)
Total Cost to Ownership
(TCO)
TCO in words
Notes:
1. TCO must be quoted in Indian Rupees and in WORDS AND FIGURES exclusive of
taxes and it is valid for five years.
2. In case of any discrepancy, TCO quoted in words will be considered.
3. The price quoted should be inclusive of Cost of deliverables, Enterprise
License, installation, customization, maintenance and support of mentioned
Software in this RFP as per Bank’s requirement.
4. Payment will be made on monthly basis as per the mentioned Payment Terms.
5. Bank will not consider any conditions mentioned in the commercial bid. Bank
reserve the right to disqualify the bidder if any deviation/conditions are
mentioned in the commercial bid.
6. All the prices are mandatory to be quoted else bid is liable to be rejected.
7. Vendor need to provide the software without any extra cost and do
integration/migration with Bank’s existing Infrastructure/software.
8. The prices should include implementation cost, software tools, 24*7*365
support and any other cost required to implement the solution successfully.
Bank will not pay any Labour charges, incidental chargers, installation of
Software, commissioning of solution separately. All such costs, if any, should be
absorbed in the TCO.
9. *Country-wise breakup for the total number of international SMS/Voice OTP/
Whatsapp message is provided as Annexure T.
10. Number of SMS/Voice OTP/Whatsapp messages/Response push/Missed call
mentioned above is indicative only and may increase or decrease as per the
actual requirement of the Bank. Number of SMS/Voice OTP/Whatsapp
messages/Response push/Missed call mentioned is only for calculation of TCO.
11. Cost of the resource is fixed for the entire contract period. Bank may take
additional resources as required during the contract period at the same cost.
12. **Rental charges for every single additional VMN numbers which would be
required in future for the bank in addition to the 10 VMN numbers provided
freely by the successful bidders in the ratio of L1:L2::7:3. Bank will purchase
any number of additional VMN numbers during the contract period at the cost
discovered. In case of expiry of contract or termination of the contract due to
any reason, the bidders have to surrender these additional virtual mobile
numbers to the Bank.
Authorized Signatory:
Place: Name & Designation & mail id:
Date: Business Address:
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