A significant change was made in the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) tender for digital evaluation of board exam answer sheets in 2025, with the removal of a key provision that earlier allowed blacklisting of service providers in case of serious lapses.
According to the report, the system in question relates to the On-Screen Marking (OSM) platform used for scanning and evaluating millions of board examination answer scripts across the country.
Original tender included strict action framework
The initial tender, issued on August 28, 2025, had included a strong enforcement mechanism. It empowered CBSE to take strict action against service providers in case of poor performance or repeated failures. This included issuing warnings, encashing performance guarantees, terminating contracts, and even blacklisting vendors.
The framework was designed to ensure accountability in handling sensitive examination-related data and to maintain quality standards in large-scale digital evaluation.
Amendment removed blacklisting provision
However, on September 20, 2025, CBSE issued a corrigendum revising the terms of the tender. In this update, the specific clause permitting the blacklisting of vendors was removed.
Following the revision, the board retained powers to impose financial penalties and cancel contracts, but the explicit mention of blacklisting no longer formed part of the document.
As per the report, the change was made after a request from the service provider, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS). The board also maintained that it still holds broader authority under existing rules to take action, including blacklisting if required.
Contract awarded under revised terms
After the amendment, the OSM contract was awarded on December 5, 2025, to Hyderabad-based Coempt Edu Teck. The agreement was finalised under the revised conditions, which focused primarily on monetary penalties and performance timelines rather than eligibility-based punitive action.
Penalty structure defined
Under the final contract, delays and technical failures attract fixed financial penalties. A delay of 15 minutes in resolving technical issues reported by CBSE can result in a penalty of Rs 1 lakh. Similarly, delays in submitting corrective action reports can also lead to penalties of Rs 1 lakh per hour.
While contract termination and security deposit forfeiture remain options in severe cases, the revised framework places greater emphasis on time-bound financial penalties.
Questions raised over revision
The removal of the blacklisting clause has raised questions regarding accountability mechanisms in contracts dealing with large-scale digital examination systems.
The OSM platform processes sensitive academic data, including scanned answer sheets of students nationwide, making enforcement safeguards a critical aspect of the evaluation process.
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