CBSE Removed 'Blacklisting Clause' Months Before Awarding OSM Contract To Coempt EduTeck, Documents RevealReported By :, Edited By:Last Updated: June 01, 2026, 16:05 ISTCNN-News18 has accessed the original 132-page tender document issued by the CBSE to firm in AugustRapid ReadThe CBSE On-Screen Marking (OSM) controversy erupted after thousands of Class 12 students reported drastic discrepancies.
Responding to CNN-News18, CBSE said while they had the blacklisting clause in the initial contract, TCS wanted it to be removed.
Blacklisting clause was part of the original August 28, 2025 CBSE tender for digital scanning and e-evaluation of answer booklets.
The key question remains — Why was the blacklisting clause removed from the tender less than a month after it was introduced?
News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submitFirst Published: June 01, 2026, 14:54 ISTNews india CBSE Removed 'Blacklisting Clause' Months Before Awarding OSM Contract To Coempt EduTeck, Documents RevealDisclaimer: Comments reflect users’ views, not News18’s.
CBSE Removed 'Blacklisting Clause' Months Before Awarding OSM Contract To Coempt EduTeck, Documents Reveal
Reported By :
, Edited By:
Last Updated: June 01, 2026, 16:05 IST
CNN-News18 has accessed the original 132-page tender document issued by the CBSE to firm in August
Rapid Read
The CBSE On-Screen Marking (OSM) controversy erupted after thousands of Class 12 students reported drastic discrepancies. (PTI File)
The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) removed the ‘blacklisting clause’ from its tender a month after introducing it, potentially allowing Hyderabad-based Coempt EduTeck, now in the thick of controversy over on-screen marking (OSM) errors, to be awarded the contract less than three months later on December 5, 2025, documents accessed by CNN-News18 have revealed.
The original 132-page tender document issued by CBSE in August, which included a provision allowing a committee to consider blacklisting, forfeiture of the performance bank guarantee (PBG), and termination of the contract in case of serious lapses.
However, the final six-page contract mentioned that the vendor can face steep financial penalties and even termination but cannot be blacklisted.
Responding to CNN-News18, CBSE said while they had the blacklisting clause in the initial contract, TCS wanted it to be removed. They said even if the clause is not a part of the corrigendum, the CBSE reserves its power to blacklist it. TCS was the third-party service provider.
The OSM controversy and Coempt EduTeck
Coempt Eduteck Private Limited is the Hyderabad-based educational technology and digital examination firm currently under intense national scrutiny for managing the CBSE’s On-Screen Marking (OSM) system for evaluating Class 12 board exam answer sheets.
The CBSE On-Screen Marking (OSM) controversy erupted after thousands of Class 12 students reported drastic discrepancies in their results following the board’s rollout of a digital evaluation system. Students alleged missing pages, blurry scanned answer sheets, unchecked answers, and mismatched handwriting.
Public anger surged when it was revealed that the contracted tech vendor, Coempt Eduteck (previously Globarena Technologies), had a highly controversial past involving allegations of result fiascos in other state exams.
What did the document state?
The original August 2025 CBSE tender contained a provision allowing a committee to consider blacklisting, forfeiture of Performance Bank Guarantee (PBG) and termination of contract in cases of serious lapses. Blacklisting clause was part of the original August 28, 2025 CBSE tender for digital scanning and e-evaluation of answer booklets.
On-Screen Marking Not The First Crisis For CBSE: 4 Times The Board Failed To Check Lapses
A corrigendum issued in September 2025 removed the blacklisting provision before the contract was awarded. After the corrigendum, the CBSE retained the power to impose financial penalties, forfeit deposits and terminate the contract, but the option to blacklist the vendor was removed.
The key question remains — Why was the blacklisting clause removed from the tender less than a month after it was introduced?
What did the final contract allow?
Under the final six-page contract, the vendor can face steep financial penalties and even termination, but cannot be blacklisted.
The contract imposed a ₹1 lakh penalty for every 15-minute delay in resolving critical issues flagged by CBSE.
₹1 lakh penalty for every 60-minute delay applies for failure to submit a root-cause analysis and corrective action plan.
Agreement also allowed CBSE to forfeit security deposits and terminate the contract in serious cases.
CBSE can terminate the contract/MOU under conditions of repeated mistakes, uncured material breaches, or by mutual consent.
CBSE reserves the right to forfeit the bidder’s Security Deposit if errors categorized under “Other Mistakes" are repeated.
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First Published: June 01, 2026, 14:54 IST
News india CBSE Removed 'Blacklisting Clause' Months Before Awarding OSM Contract To Coempt EduTeck, Documents Reveal
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