The pre-bid meeting for the captioned work was held at 11:00 hrs. on August 05, 2024, at New Central Office Building, as per the Notice Inviting Tender published in RBI website and MSTC Portal.
2. List of Bank’s Officials / bidder’s representatives who attended the meeting:
3. Smt. Shweta Sharma, General Manager, Department of Communication welcomed the participants to the meeting and invited queries, if any, from the prospective bidders regarding the captioned tender. She briefed the participants on the expectations from the bidders and explained various aspects of the tenders and Bank’s requirements, which need to be taken care of in their bids. Queries put forth by the representatives and clarifications given by the Bank are tabulated below:
| S.No | Queries / Statements from the firm | Reference
(relevant page(s) in Tender Document) | Answers / Clarifications from the Bank's side, if any. |
| 1 | What types of litigations from the past 5 years need to be listed? Should we notify only those litigations that may have an adverse impact on the bid? | S.No. 11 in Eligibility Criteria – Pg 24 | All litigations that could have an adverse impact on this bid must be submitted, as also any litigation wherein any substantial claim has been made against your network. |
| 2 | We will be submitting the bid in the name of Star India Pvt Limited (SIPL). The Hotstar business has now merged with SIPL. However, for FY 2021-22 and 2022-23, the Hotstar business was part of the NOVI India legal entity. Should we submit the financial statements and income tax returns for only SIPL, or for both SIPL and NOVI? | S.No. 8 in Eligibility Criteria – Pg 24 | You are required to submit financial statements for both the entities. |
| 3 | The audited Financial statements and Income Tax return for FY2023-24 are not yet available. | S.No. 8 in Eligibility Criteria – Pg 24 | For now, potential bidders may submit the provisional financial statements for FY 2023-24. The final bidder, who is awarded the contract, will be required to submit the audited financial statements for FY 2023-24 as soon as they are available. |
| 4 | Can EMD be also paid through online deposit? | Para 3 of General Terms and Conditions – Pg 33 | Options are available for online deposit; however, it is preferred to receive the EMD through a Bank Guarantee. Those who make the online deposit should email the department the UTR number and other details for reconciliation on or before 5:00 PM on August 13, 2024 |
| 5 | Is there a detailed list of metrics which the client needs post series launch? Are there any specific insights the client requires from the platform on consumption of the series? | | Bidders need to provide metrics in terms of viewership, minutes played etc. Agency is required to promote the series through your network channels, OTT platform and social media handles etc. to create buzz for the web series. |
| 6 a | Is the 200 million users flexible? Is this meant to be from a singular platform or can be consolidated from different OTT platforms under one organisation? | Page 23 of RFP | This condition has been given to ensure maximum reach of the webseries. As part of the distribution strategy, the bidders can put forth a proposal of distribution through a number of channels and OTT platforms.
However, the minimum Unique Users (from within India) per month, of only the top three OTT platforms – by the number of users - (out of the bouquet of OTTs submitted by any bidder) will be taken into consideration.
Illustratively – if t1, t2 and t3 are the maximum users of three OTTs out of the list of OTTs submitted by the bidder, then to qualify under this condition, (t1+t2+t3) >= 200 mn |
| b | Is this platform views or expected views on the content uploaded? | | This is current platform views. |
| 7 | Whether exemption in submission of Earnest Money Deposit (EMD) is applicable for the MSME bidders. | Para 3 of General Terms and Conditions – Pg 33 | The exemption is not applicable as the estimated cost of the tender exceeds ₹10 lakh. As per extant instructions, the relaxation is applicable only to Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs) having Udyam Registration Number (Udyog Aadhar Memorandum Number) in all the procurements (goods, services or work contracts) having an estimated cost up to ₹10 lakh (including all taxes, duties, etc.) |
| 8 | Is the celebrity cost included in the estimated cost? | | Cost of Category A celebrity host need not be included in the estimated cost. However, the cost of any models, actors, voice overs, anthems, background music, title song, etc. need to be incorporated in the estimated cost/ financial bid submitted. |
| 9 | Eligibility criteria mentioned for experience with PSUs/State Governments/Central Governments/BFSI | Page 22 of RFP | Experience with Corporates may also be considered. |
| 10 | Can form H be made optional? | S.No 2 & 3 of Eligibility Criteria – Pgs 22 & 23 | Work completion certificate of top three projects shall be submitted in available format with the bidder. Successful bidder shall submit form H for the top three works done by them within 15 days of agreement, until the same is waived off at a later stage by the Bank. |
| 11 | Can any payment be made during the course of the project? | Para 20 (ii) (Page 41) & Para 33 (Page 48). | Payment will be made as per the terms of the RFP. |
| 12 | The Presentation needs to be submitted with bid documents on MSTC portal? | | Presentation will be invited from only those bidders who qualify in the technical eligibility criteria. However, bidder should be ready with presentation submission on August 21, 2024. |
| 13 | Are you looking at scripted documentary format or scripted entertainment format series? | | The format to be adopted is yet to be finalised. The selected bidder to be competent to produce the Web Series as per requirement of the Bank, s.t conditions given in the RFP document. |
| 14 | Is the application form to be submitted on the Company letterhead? | | Yes |
| 15 | If we give Star Plus SD + HD, is this considered 1 channel or 2 channels? | | This will be considered as a single channel provided in two formats. |
i) This document (minutes of the Pre-Bid Meeting) shall form a part of the tender. Hence, it shall be signed and uploaded on MSTC along with the tender by the tenderers.
ii) Rest of the terms and conditions and specifications of the bid document shall continue to remain the same.
iii) The above amendments/ clarifications are issued for the information of all the intending bidders.