Interested parties must submit their bids by June 7, 2023. Bidders are required to submit an earnest money deposit (EMD) amounting to 2 per cent of the tender value or a maximum of Rs 0.5 million ($6,037). The EMD provided by the successful bidders will be converted into a security deposit.

Upon acceptance, the successful bidders must submit the remaining balance of the security deposit, which should be 5 per cent of the order value or a maximum of Rs 1 million ($12,075), before the purchase order can be placed.

The solar cells must meet specific requirements, including wattage of 4.62W. They should have dimensions of 157 x 157 +- 0.25 mm and a thickness of 200 um +- 20 um. Additionally, the cells must feature a silicon nitride anti-reflective coating and have a busbar difference of 31.2 mm +- 0.25 mm. They must exhibit an efficiency of 18.8 per cent under standard test conditions and have a fill factor of 80 per cent. Furthermore, the cells should be available in light blue, blue, dark blue or indigo colours.

Moreover, the cells must be free from any visual defects such as broken or chipped edges, micro-cracks, pinholes, discontinuity of metal printing lines, spots, spillages or smears, colour variations, and non-uniform printing lines.

The allocation of the quantity will be distributed according to the following ratios: 60:40 to 70:30 between the lowest bidder L1 and L2 if two bidders are selected, and 50:30:20 for L1, L2, and L3 bidders if three bidders are selected. In cases where a larger volume or capacity restriction exists, consideration may be given to more than three bidders.

In the event of a bidder failing to deliver the materials as scheduled, liquidated damages will be imposed. These damages will amount to 0.5 per cent of the tender value per week for the first four weeks, increasing to 0.7 per cent of the tender value per week thereafter. Previously, ITI had released a tender for the supply of 2,350,080 polycrystalline solar cells.