Teen Who Questioned CBSE Tender Now Opens 1.66 Crore Government Contracts to Public

A Class 12 student who recently gained attention for analysing the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) digital evaluation tender has launched a large-scale public data portal featuring approximately 1.66 crore government procurement records sourced from India’s Central Public Procurement (CPP) system.

The initiative is designed to make government contract data more accessible, enabling citizens, journalists, researchers, and policy analysts to independently examine public spending and procurement patterns.

From Exam Paper Analysis to National Procurement Data Project

The student, Sarthak Sidhant, first came into public attention after reviewing publicly available CBSE documents related to the On-Screen Marking (OSM) system used in digital evaluation of answer sheets.

His analysis of tender documents reportedly highlighted changes in eligibility criteria and evaluation conditions across different versions of procurement notices, prompting wider discussion on transparency in education-related contracting.

Following that work, he has now expanded his focus beyond the education sector by building a searchable database that aggregates government procurement records from multiple departments.

1.66 Crore Records Made Searchable for Public Use

According to the developer, the newly launched platform compiles and structures millions of procurement entries available on the government’s Central Public Procurement Portal.

The system is designed to allow users to search, filter, and analyse contracts issued by various government bodies, potentially making it easier to track expenditure trends and vendor participation.

The initiative aims to simplify access to complex datasets that are otherwise difficult for the public to navigate in their raw form.

Push for Greater Transparency in Public Spending

Sidhant said the goal of the project is to encourage independent scrutiny of government procurement and promote data-driven discussions on public accountability.

He has encouraged users to explore the dataset, conduct their own analysis, and identify patterns in procurement decisions across sectors.

Supporters of such initiatives argue that improved access to structured government data can strengthen transparency and civic oversight, especially in large-scale public procurement systems.

Growing Role of Citizen Data Analysis

The project has sparked wider discussion about the increasing involvement of young researchers and independent developers in analysing publicly available government information.

Observers say such efforts reflect a broader shift toward open-data-driven governance, where citizens play a more active role in examining public systems and expenditure.

The portal currently focuses on procurement data from the CPP system, and further expansions may be developed as part of ongoing transparency-focused work.