NIIT bags Rs 35-crore order from Tobacco Board

NIIT Technologies Ltd, an IT solutions provider, has bagged a Rs 35-crore order from the Tobacco Board to implement e-auction of tobacco in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. G Kamala Varhana Rao, chairman, Tobacco Board , said that NIIT will implement an IT solution in 100 days that will facilitate e-auction of tobacco and eliminate market intermediaries.

"E-auctions are likely to start in November first week in Karnataka. The system will be introduced in 31 auction platforms - 20 in Andhra Pradesh and 11 in Karnataka," he said. "We have conducted pilot projects at two places on the e-auctioning system. They proved to be successful. NIIT was shortlisted after a due process. With e-auctioning system in place, no one can influence prices. Everything will be transparent," Rao said at a press conference.
"This is one of the key e-governance initiatives in the area of commodity marketing in India. The Tea and Spices Boards also have e-auctioning platforms," he added. Arvind Mehrotra, president, Asia-Pacific, NIIT, said the solution envisages usage of handheld devices. Bidders will use handheld devices for conducting auction on real-time basis. The auction platforms will enable the farmers to sell their tobacco bales to cigarette manufacturing companies.
"The process will ensure inventory reduction and transparency through real-time collaboration between buyers and suppliers. Approximately 1,000 bales are expected to be auctioned at each location each day. The platform will ensure fair pricing for the farmers as the market intermediaries will be excluded in the process," Mehrotra said.