No decision yet on contractto IFTAS: Kadakampally

Cooperation Minister Kadakampally Surendran on Tuesday told the Assembly that the government had not awarded the ₹168 crore cooperative banking sector-related IT solutions contract to any firm.

The Opposition was chasing a mirage by alleging that the government had arbitrarily contracted Indian Financial Technology and Allied Services (IFTAS) to provide banking and non-banking solutions to 1,500 Primary Agriculture Cooperative Societies (PACS) and their branches in Kerala.

Mr. Surendran reiterated his claim that the IFTAS was a non-profit organisation under the RBI’s umbrella.

The previous government had contracted the firm to provide software solutions to the PACS in Wayanad and Palakkad in 2015. The IFTAS had outsourced the software, which was later found to be faulty. The government was ready for a Vigilance inquiry into the fiasco.

Now, the IFTAS was an original supplier and had the infrastructure to provide maintenance and service. Its software would help integrate the proposed Kerala Bank with the PACS, thus creating the most extensive banking network in the State. A technical and cost evaluation was on.

Leader of the Opposition Ramesh Chennithala said the government had displayed a unique preference for the IFTAS. It had shunned the path of open tendering to favour the private firm. Congress legislator V.D. Satheeshan said RTI queries had shown that neither the Minister’s office nor the Registrar of Cooperatives knew anything about the deal.

He said the IFTAS had nothing to do with the RBI. He alleged the IFTAS was a face for private firms seeking to bag the lucrative contract. It was using the RBI as a front. The IFTAS had no technical expertise and lacked the credentials to execute the agreement.

It was incorporated only in 2015 with the sole purpose to bag the initial PACS banking solution deals. There appeared to be more to the IFTAS than what met the eye, he said.