Railway Board Inaction Derails VSS Procurement across Indian Railways

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The procurement of Video Surveillance Systems (#VSS) across #IndianRailways has run into serious operational hurdles, largely due to a visible disconnect between tendered technical specifications and #Tender-eligibility and #evaluation-conditions, raising questions over the effectiveness of the current procurement approach.

While the tendered specifications for VSS prescribe multiple mandatory safety and security certifications, the corresponding #Tender-conditions do not explicitly require verification of these certifications at the time of #Tender-opening. As a result, #contracts have been finalized on the assumption that successful #bidders would comply with these requirements at a later stage.

In several cases, such post-award compliance has not materialised, leading to cancellation of contracts and significant delays.

Railway officers familiar with the matter point out that this mismatch has resulted in repeated procurement failures, despite the strategic importance of #VSS in strengthening #Safety and #Security infrastructure across the railway network.

Contracts Finalised, Then Withdrawn

Chittaranjan Locomotive Works (#CLW) was among the first Zonal Railways/PUs to finalise VSS tenders, awarding contracts to three firms. These #contracts were awarded with a #condition that the firms would submit mandatory certifications and prototypes within a stipulated period of 60 days. However, failure to meet the tendered specifications led to cancellation of the 2 contracts, while another contract remains under scrutiny following adverse technical clarification.

RDSO Clarifications Ignored

In another significant development, RDSO, vide its letter dated 02 December 2025 to CRSE/SCR, clarified that M/s i2V who is the OEM, does not possess its own manufacturing setup for #MNVR, nor has it furnished intellectual property rights (#IPR) documents—both mandatory under Clause 3.14 of the VSS specification.

Industry observers note that the decisions, taken in disregard of prior technical advice, significantly increase the risk of contractual failure and litigation.

Sources further indicate that some Zonal Railways placed orders on a firm, despite RDSO in their letter dated 23 December 2025 addressed to RailTel, reportedly flagged non-compliance with #SQTC certification requirements. These contracts are now understood to be under process of cancellation.

Systemic Issues in Procurement

Collectively, these cases highlight a systemic gap between technical vetting and procurement execution, resulting in loss of time, administrative effort, and public funds. They also threaten to derail a key initiative aimed at modernising railway safety infrastructure.

Railway Board had earlier directed RDSO to prepare a comprehensive evaluation #checklist, which was issued on 15 January 2026. Subsequently, it was decided at the #Board level that products should first be approved by RDSO, after which #ZonalRailways and #ProductionUnits would proceed with procurement.

However, in the absence of a clear and binding directive, #procurement actions have continued without prior #product-approval, leading to contracts that are either cancelled or face imminent risk of cancellation.

Senior railway officials and industry insiders suggest that greater alignment between #specifications, #tender-conditions, and #technical-approvals is essential to ensure timely and successful implementation of VSS project across Indian Railways. To Contd..