Natural Support Consultancy Services Private Limited Vs National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Competition Commission of India)
The information was filed by Natural Support Consultancy Services Private Limited (Informant) under Section 19(1)(a) of the Competition Act, 2002, alleging violations of Sections 3 and 4 by National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) and Infosys Limited. The Informant, engaged in software and IT services, claimed that NABARD and Infosys entered into anti-competitive arrangements concerning the implementation and upgradation of Core Banking Solutions (CBS) for Rural Cooperative Banks (RCBs).
NABARD, a statutory body under the NABARD Act, 1981, facilitates and regulates credit systems and technological adoption in rural banking. Infosys, through its Finacle software, provides CBS platforms. NABARD had earlier issued a 2011 Request for Proposal (RFP) for CBS implementation across cooperative banks, resulting in empanelment of vendors including Infosys and TCS. The contract, initially for five years, was extended multiple times until 2022. After Wipro’s withdrawal as system integrator, the arrangement continued with Infosys’ Finacle platform.
In 2023, NABARD issued a fresh RFP for migration and upgradation of CBS from Finacle 7.x to Finacle 10.2.25 for 58 cooperative banks. The Informant alleged that this RFP restricted participation only to system integrators authorized by Infosys, thereby excluding other capable vendors and creating preferential treatment. It was further alleged that repeated extensions of earlier contracts and continued reliance on Infosys indicated an implied anti-competitive agreement and abuse of dominance by NABARD.
