The Rajasthan government recently awarded a contract to ANI Media Private Limited, the parent company of ANI news agency, to provide live streaming services for its official programmes. ANI Media emerged as the winning bidder in a competitive tendering process, outbidding two other competing firms.

However, an investigation by The Wire uncovered that ANI Media shares directors with the other two bidding companies and has closely linked postal addresses with them.

A minimum of three bidders are required for a government tender to be valid. In this tendering process, there were only three bidders, and each is closely linked to the other – raising questions of propriety, conflict of interest and other irregularities in granting contracts for official work, going by the Rajasthan government’s own rules, The Wire noted.

Official records indicate that three directors of ANI Media also hold directorial positions in the two competing firms. These firms share a managing director, suggesting possible collusion and undermining of fair competition norms.

According to details published on the Rajasthan government’s e-procurement website, ANI Media (bid number 2811045), along with Asian Films TV Private Limited (bid number 2812040) and Yellowgate Ventures (bid number 2812070), were the sole participants in the tender advertised by the Department of Information and Public Relations (DIPR) or Rajasthan Samwad on June 7, 2024.

According to the website, these firms were the only respondents to the DIPR’s tender which closed on June 18. The minimum value of procurement was set at Rs 1 crore.

While Asian Films TV and Yellowgate Ventures were disqualified by the DIPR on “technical grounds”, ANI Media is shown to have secured the contract on “financial grounds” by submitting a bid of Rs 94 lakh, which falls below the minimum procurement value set by the state government at Rs 1 crore.