An Indian court has scrapped the government’s tender for outsourcing passport, visa and consular services at diplomatic missions in four countries, including Australia and Singapore, as two losing bidders argued the selection process was not fair.
The Delhi High Court ordered the authorities to seek fresh bids for the contracts in the four countries, which also cover Abu Dhabi and Kuwait, finding that officials had failed to adequately explain how bids were evaluated and why some applicants were disqualified.
In response to The Straits Times’ queries, the High Commission of India in Singapore said passport and visa services in the Republic are not affected by the court’s decision at the moment.
“There are two Indian consular application centres in Singapore which accept applications for consular services on behalf of the High Commission. There is no change in this set-up,” the commission said.
The dispute has disrupted services in Australia, where VFS Global suspended new passport and visa applications from July 1, citing instructions from the High Commission of India in Canberra.
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