Tech3 | TCS bags Rs 15,000-cr mega deal; Swiggy Instamart serves up Instacafe; and more

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In today’s newsletter:

• TCS bags Rs 15,000-cr BSNL deal?
• Shein's India comeback could boost e-comm: Delhivery CEO
• Swiggy Instamart expands menu with Instacafe?

TCS bags Rs 15,000-cr BSNL deal

After more than eight months of speculation, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has finally confirmed securing a deal worth over Rs 15,000 crore from government-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) for the nationwide deployment of a 4G network.??

• This deal will provide a significant boost to India's largest software exporter, especially as its major markets, the US and Europe, are experiencing a slowdown

BSNL had issued Advance Purchase Orders (APO) to both TCS and state-run ITI for this project.

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A consortium led by TCS won the deal, which also includes Tata Group's telecom gear-making company, Tejas Networks, and C-DOT.

• Tejas Networks will be responsible for manufacturing and servicing the Radio Access Networks (RAN) equipment and hardware required for the project

This marks TCS' third major deal in 2023, including:

• A $723-million deal with the UK-based Phoenix Group
• Multiple deals worth $1 billion from British retailer Marks and Spencer

Why TCS?

Indian IT companies have a long history of operating government-owned population-scale platforms ; however, their performance has not always been up to the mark due to various reasons. In contrast, TCS has emerged as an outlier among its peers, achieving better success in this regard.

• While the BSNL deal is expected to bring good revenue for TCS, there are concerns that it may be margin dilutive due to the involvement of numerous participants
• TCS sees Indian governmental projects as a training ground to improve its understanding of population-scale projects and to replicate their success in other countries
• It is worth noting that profit margins are not the sole priority for such deals, as they are likely to be lower?

TCS already runs India's Passport Seva programme, the Indian Railways’ IRCTC site, and India Post’s digital projects. However, despite these significant projects, the Indian market contributes around 5% to the overall revenue of the company.

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