Frequently Asked Questions

Question No. 1: What is BSNL e-Procurement?

Answer: Selected BSNL tenders are hosted on BSNL E-tender Portal site (https://etender.bsnl.co.in)
for e-procurement purpose. This site can also be accessed through BSNL Corporate website
bsnl.co.in by clicking the “Tenders” link & then clicking “On BSNL Portal” link, BSNL E-tender
Portal link is available. All registered vendors can participate in such tenders (Vendors may see the
eligibility criteria mentioned in the specific tender documents). Vendors need to pay Tender Fee
and EMD (wherever applicable) as per the process mentioned in the tender document. Vendors can
submit their bids online from their desktops. For Limited tenders selected vendors can participate.

Question No. 2: Who can access BSNL E-tender Portal for e-procurement? Is it necessary to get
myself registered here?

Answer: All guest users can access the BSNL E-Tender Portal by clicking the link “Vendor Guest
Login” and browse through the list of all tenders which are published for which the submission
deadline is yet to be reached. The registration / access authorization (User ID & password) is
mandatorily required for participation in tenders.

Question No. 3: Whether registration on BSNL E-Tender Portal means I am eligible for submitting
bids for all the bids invited by BSNL units on this portal?

Answer: The registration on BSNL E-Tender Portal only means that you have been provided with
access authorization i.e. User ID & Password for participation in the tenders. However, the
eligibility for a particular tender shall be as per the eligibility criteria stated in the NIT/ tender
documents.

Question No. 4: Do I have to compulsorily submit my tender through BSNL E-Tender Portal?

Answer: Yes. For all BSNL tenders which are hosted on BSNL E-Tender Portal site, the Price Bid
and Unpriced Technical Bids have to be submitted online only. However, documents which
necessarily have to be submitted in original like EMD or any other documents mentioned in the
tender documents have to be submitted to the concerned office of BSNL as per the NIT.

Question No. 5: What are the prerequisites to submit e-tenders through BSNL E-Tender Portal?

Answer: Bidder should have a valid User ID and password to access BSNL E-Tender Portal site to
submit e-tenders. The Bidders should have internet connectivity / Broadband connectivity. Bidder
should have a legally valid class 3 digital certificate as per Indian IT Act from the licensed
Certifying Authorities operating under the Root Certifying Authority of India (RCAI), Controller of
Certifying Authorities (CCA) of India. Bidder should fulfill any other eligibility criteria/
prerequisites mentioned in the tender documents of a specific tender.
Question No. 6: How do I get a valid User ID and Password to access BSNL E-Tender Portal site
for e-tendering?

Answer:
1. Click on “New Bidder? Apply for Access Authorization” link on the BSNL E-Tender login
page.

2. Download the Vendor Registration form and send the duly filled Vendor registration form
with other required documents to the designated Email ID as mentioned in the form. If you
are an existing vendor of BSNL, kindly mention your Vendor code Created in ERP in the
email.

3. After creation of User ID, you will receive an email with User ID and first time password,
the password needs to be changed on your first login.

Note: User ID will be created normally within 3 working days after reviewing the received form &
supporting documents. In case you don't receive User ID, kindly send an email to
agm.srm@bsnl.co.in.

Question No 7: What is OTP?

Answer: OTP is required for registered Vendors in BSNL E-tender portal.OTP are the one time
password received on your registered mobile no and email address. OTP is required when vendor
clicks on RFx/NIT or during encryption/decryption of rates while creating response for desired
NIT/RFx.

Question No 8: What is a Digital Signature?

Answer: A digital code that can be attached to an electronically transmitted message that uniquely
identifies the sender. Like a written signature, the purpose of a digital signature is to guarantee that
the individual sending the message is really the one who claims to be the sender. Digital certificates
used to create digital signatures are issued by a trusted certifying authority authorized by the
Controller of Certifying Authorities of India.

Question No. 9: I have Class-II Digital Signatures. Will they be enough or do I have to obtain
Class-III Digital Signatures?

Answer: Class III Digital Signatures are mandatorily required as per the IT Act 2000.

Question No. 10: How to Obtain Class III Digital Signature?

Answer: Visit the site of the licensed CA using internet browser. Apply online for a class 3 digital
certificate for the designated individual with organization name. Ensure the Digital Certificate is
legally valid in India. For making payment and submission of documents required for issue of the
Digital Certificate, follow the instructions on the CA's website. Use the class 3 Digital Certificate
thus obtained for online bidding on BSNL E-Tender site.
Links to licensed CA's are provided below
http://www.cca.gov.in/cca/?q=licensed_ca.html

Question No. 11: What if I need help while submitting my electronic tender?

Answer: If you need help while submitting your electronic tender, please contact our SRM
Helpdesk Team during business hours at:

 agm.srm@bsnl.co.in

Business Hours: 10:00 to 17:30 Hrs Indian Time (GMT + 5:30 Hrs) from Monday to Saturday

Note: Kindly mention your User ID in your email.

Or you can also contact as per the contact details in the Tender Documents.

Question No. 12: What if I don't submit my e-tender through the BSNL E-Tender portal before
tender submission deadline?

Answer: BSNL e-Procurement system does not allow you to submit the tender, once the submission
deadline is passed. You have to submit response to E-Tender before the submission deadline is
reached.

Question No. 13: Pop-up for Digital Signature is not coming?

Answer: Check the following as mentioned:

 Check whether Digital Signature is expired or not.

 If Popup blocker is On – Then disable it.
 If Active X control is disabled (internet / trusted site) – Then make it enable/prompt.
 Check whether the Digital signature is installed at Personal, Trusted Publisher, and
Intermediate Certification Authorities & Trusted Root Certification Authority in path
Internet Explorer  Tools  Internet options  Content  Certificates – if not installed
then kindly get it installed.
 Internet explorer version should have a version 8.0 or above. Only Internet Explorer 8.0 &
above is to be used. Chrome, Mozilla, Firefox or Netscape are not allowed.
 Delete Temp files & Cookies.
 Always use Internet Explorer in ‘Run as Administrator’ mode.

Question No. 16: What are the benefits in receiving / submitting tenders online?

Answer: Electronic or Online Tendering is just carrying out the same traditional tendering process
in an electronic form, using the Internet. Using online tendering, the Bidders can receive
notification of the relevant tenders, receive tender documents online and submit their bids online.
Question No. 17: How Secure is the E-tendering process on BSNL ERP Portal?

Answer: The security features incorporated in the application ensures that all activities are logged
and no unauthorized person has access to the data.

(a) Digital Signature: The solution includes capturing digital signature authorized and
certified by approved agency nominated by Controller of Certifying Authorities under
Ministry of IT, Govt. of India.
(b) Process Validation: The solution has been so architected that a user (BSNL Officers /
Bidders) cannot view the commercial bid of any Bidder till the date and time specified
for the opening of the commercial bid is due. All the documents are encrypted.
(c) Unauthorized Access: The entire solution is behind a firewall and unauthorized access is
not allowed. The login passwords of all users are encrypted at the database level. 128 bit
SSL Certificate from VeriSign is used for communication between the browser and the
web server. This ensures that all communication between browser and web server is
encrypted and cannot be hacked.
(d) 2 Layer Authentication (First is user id & password, second is OTP send to your
registered mobile number).