The events you relate are broadly correct. But your insinuation that the bank attempted to favour Pricewaterhouse Coopers (PWC) is unfounded. On the contrary, this is an excellent example of its close monitoring of the procurement process preventing undue favouring of any firm and ensuring fair competition.
In all bank procurements, the shortlisted firms cannot include more than two from any country and must have at least one from a developing country. The bank raised questions on the sub-criteria developed by the DJB for evaluating the bids on the grounds that these did not adequately respond to the requirements of the TOR, and the scores thus awarded distorted the evaluation.
The bank arrived at this opinion after a thorough review. The bank did mention PWC by name when it advised that if a firm receives less than 75 per cent of the average score, an explanation is needed, and cited as an example PWC's rating of 1 on 3 in a particular category, which was not explained.
The bank asked that one particular evaluator's scores be removed from the evaluation of the revised technical proposals as they were significantly at variance from the average in respect of a particular criterion. Due to this distortion of the average score, only one particular firm passed the technical bid. On correcting the average by removal of this evaluator's scores, three firms, including PWC and the original winner, passed. When the financial bids of these three firms were opened, PWC won on the combined score. We do not see this as "micro-managing the internal affairs of a client", but ensuring in partnership with the borrower a transparent and fair procurement process for a contract that is being funded with public money.
As for the foreign currency payment, PWC's financial bid, as those of the others, was in a combination of mostly Indian rupee and a certain amount in foreign currency (Rs 4,98,86,808 plus ,443,170 in the case of PWC). Both local and international firms routinely bid in this manner to cover for foreign expenses they might incur on hiring experts, for example, and there is nothing unusual or strange in this.
