Questions people ask before they bid

Find the tender on the official portal (GeM, CPPP/eProcure or your state's portal), register as a bidder there, and get a Class 3 Digital Signature Certificate in your firm's name. Download the tender document, prepare the technical and financial bids exactly as the document specifies, pay the EMD, then upload and submit online before the closing date and time. Bids are almost always online-only now — a physical submission is rare and the tender document will say so explicitly if it applies.

EMD is the Earnest Money Deposit — a refundable amount you submit with your bid to show you are serious. It is typically 1% to 3% of the estimated tender value, though the tender document is the only authority on the exact figure. It is returned to unsuccessful bidders after the tender is decided, and to the winner once the performance security is furnished. Many tenders exempt MSMEs registered under Udyam from paying EMD at all.

Yes. Indian government e-procurement portals require a Class 3 Digital Signature Certificate to submit a bid. It must be issued in the name of the person authorised to sign for your firm. You buy it from a licensed Certifying Authority, it usually takes a day or two, and it is valid for one to three years. Without a valid DSC you can browse and download tenders but cannot submit one.

The tender document is the only authoritative list, and it varies by tender. In practice most ask for: PAN and GST registration, firm registration or incorporation proof, audited financials or turnover certificate for the last three years, Udyam/MSME certificate if you are claiming that benefit, past work-completion certificates of similar scope, a solvency certificate from your bank, EMD proof, and a signed no-deviation or acceptance declaration. Always work from the actual document rather than a general checklist.

GeM (Government e Marketplace) is a purchasing marketplace for goods and services with published catalogues, and much of it runs as a reverse auction where sellers compete on price. CPPP (the Central Public Procurement Portal, eprocure.gov.in) hosts formal tender notices, largely for works and larger contracts, using the GePNIC system that most state portals also run. Broadly: GeM for supplying goods and standard services, CPPP and state portals for construction and project work.

Yes, but read the eligibility clause first. Many tenders set a minimum annual turnover and require past experience on work of similar nature and value, which a new firm cannot meet. Plenty of smaller tenders carry no such condition, and government policy reserves a share of procurement for MSMEs and gives startups relaxations on turnover and prior-experience requirements. The practical route is to start with tenders whose eligibility you genuinely meet and build a record of completion certificates.

There is no single figure — it is set per tender, and is commonly around 30% to 100% of the estimated contract value as average annual turnover over the last three years. A ₹50 lakh tender might ask for ₹15–50 lakh. The tender document states the exact requirement, and it is a hard filter: bids from firms that do not meet it are rejected at technical evaluation regardless of price.

Under the Public Procurement Policy for Micro and Small Enterprises, registered MSEs are commonly exempt from EMD and tender-document fees, and are often relaxed on prior-turnover and experience conditions. Central ministries and PSUs also have a mandated share of annual procurement from MSEs, with sub-targets for SC/ST and women-owned enterprises. You need a valid Udyam registration to claim any of it, and you must claim it in the bid — it is not applied automatically.

It depends on the tender. Many carry a tender-document fee of a few hundred to a few thousand rupees, paid online on the portal; many others, particularly on GeM, are free. Registered MSEs are frequently exempt. The fee, if any, is stated on the tender notice, and it is separate from the EMD.

Bidrove is a free Indian government tender discovery platform for MSMEs, contractors and small businesses. It collects live tenders from official government e-procurement portals and, for each tender, shows the eligibility conditions where the tender document publishes them, an automatic cost and profit estimate, required documents, deadlines, EMD and a step-by-step bidding guide.

Yes. Every live tender is free to read in full — whatever its value, with no account needed — and searching is free, as is eligibility in plain words wherever the tender document lists it. A free account saves tenders and opens the official documents of tenders above ₹2 Lakh. Bidrove Member (₹299 a month or ₹2,999 a year) adds the AI on all tenders (the summary, the bid advisor, cost & profit and bid drafts), winning prices on every award and for similar work, archive search, AI drafts and data reports in Products, and email alerts.

Bidrove aggregates Indian government tenders from GeM (the Government e-Marketplace, gem.gov.in), the national CPPP / GePNIC portal (eprocure.gov.in) and state e-procurement portals, across categories like construction, roads, water and sewerage, electrical, healthcare, IT, supply and cleaning.

Where the tender document publishes them, the tender page lists the eligibility conditions — contractor class, similar-work experience, turnover and registrations — in plain language, so you can see at a glance whether you qualify. Many portals publish the criteria only inside the bid document; when that happens we show the portal's own listing and link you straight to it rather than inventing a checklist.

Bidrove uses a cost model based on typical cost ratios for the tender's category, adjusted by a state cost index, to estimate the cost to execute, the likely profit and the margin. It also suggests a recommended L1 (lowest-viable-wins) bid price and a breakdown of where every rupee of the contract goes. These are estimates to start from, not a quote.

Reading tenders is free: every live tender opens in full on the free plan, with no card. Bidrove Member costs ₹299 a month or ₹2,999 a year and adds the AI on all tenders (the summary, the bid advisor, cost & profit and bid drafts), winning prices on every award and for similar work, archive search, AI drafts and data reports in Products, and email alerts. Current pricing is on the pricing page.

Yes. It is built for MSMEs and first-time bidders — it explains EMD, documents and deadlines in plain language, sets out the eligibility conditions where the tender document publishes them, and gives a step-by-step guide to submitting a bid, so you don't need prior tendering experience.

Yes. Free daily alerts on Telegram (bidrove.com/telegram) for your state and work type, with no account needed. Bidrove Member adds email alerts on up to 5 saved searches. You can also save tenders to a wishlist and get deadline reminders.

Bidrove focuses on being beginner-friendly and India-first: free discovery, plain-language eligibility conditions wherever the tender document publishes them, automatic profit and cost estimates, a recommended bid price, and a mobile-friendly experience that works on slower connections — instead of just a long list of tenders.

No. Every live tender reads in full whatever its value, with no account. A free account opens the official documents of tenders above ₹2 Lakh.

Winning prices on every award and for similar work on every tender, archive search over tenders closed since June 2026, AI drafts and data reports in Products, and email alerts on up to 5 saved searches. It costs ₹299 a month or ₹2,999 a year. Every live tender stays free either way.

Yes. A membership paid once simply ends with its period, so there is nothing to cancel. One that renews by UPI AutoPay can be stopped any time from Plans & billing, or in your UPI app; the period you paid for runs to its end and nothing more is debited. Payments are not refundable unless something went wrong with the payment itself. Paying yearly saves 16%, and Free never needs a card.