New Delhi: Grid Controller of India Limited (Grid-India) has invited domestic companies, public sector undertakings, start-ups and other eligible entities to develop indigenous Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) and Energy Management System (EMS) software for India’s power grid. Under the initiative, up to five developers will be selected, with each eligible to receive funding of up to ₹10 crore.
The Expression of Interest (EoI) estimates the total indicative funding at up to ₹50 crore, including taxes. The funding will be subject to the availability of funds and approval from the competent authority. Interested entities must submit their responses by November 5, 2026, while technical presentations are scheduled for December 5.
The initiative aims to strengthen India’s technological self-reliance in power grid management by encouraging the domestic development of critical software used in electricity control rooms.
Grid-India Invites Proposals for Indigenous SCADA and EMS Software
Grid-India has issued the EoI on behalf of a working group comprising the Ministry of Power, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), the Central Electricity Authority (CEA), the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC), Power Grid Corporation of India Limited and Grid-India.
The programme will support the development of indigenous SCADA and EMS applications used by National, Regional and State Load Despatch Centres (NLDC, RLDCs and SLDCs).
SCADA systems collect real-time operational data from substations and power plants, while EMS applications analyse this information to assess grid conditions, examine potential failures and help balance electricity generation with demand. These systems are essential for the reliable operation and monitoring of India’s electricity network.
The EoI describes the proposed financial assistance as seed funding and links the initiative to the draft National Electricity Policy 2026, which, according to the document, mandates an indigenous SCADA/EMS system.
CEA Roadmap Targets Replacement of Imported Power Grid Systems
The initiative comes amid efforts to replace imported SCADA systems with domestically developed alternatives across India’s power grid.
A Central Electricity Authority committee has outlined a three-year roadmap covering the financial years 2026-27 to 2028-29. The roadmap identifies 38 software modules and 25 hardware items for phased indigenisation.
The effort follows a Ministry of Power decision that imported SCADA systems should no longer be used for new procurement after 2030, as described in the project background.
The proposed development programme is intended to build domestic expertise in critical grid control technologies, reduce dependence on foreign platforms and strengthen India’s ability to maintain and upgrade essential power infrastructure.
19 Applications to Be Developed for Power Grid Operations
The selected developers will work on 19 applications covering the core functions of SCADA and EMS systems. A key requirement is the development of a common network database based on the Common Information Model (CIM), an international standard for describing electricity networks.
According to the EoI, existing modelling tools have often been closely tied to individual vendors’ SCADA platforms. This has created challenges in system operation, maintenance, migration and interoperability.
The proposed indigenous software architecture will use a common, vendor-neutral network model to improve compatibility across load despatch centres.
The application suite will include:
- CIM-based network database: A common model of the power network for different control centres.
- Core SCADA platform: Real-time monitoring and management of grid operations.
- Historian: Long-term storage of operational data.
- Web applications: Sharing operational information with authorised users.
- State estimation: Assessing the current operating condition of the power network.
- Contingency analysis: Evaluating the impact of potential network failures.
- Automatic Generation Control (AGC): Helping regulate electricity generation to maintain system balance.
- Dynamic security assessment: Evaluating grid stability under changing operating conditions.
- Dispatcher training simulator: Supporting the training of control room personnel.
Software Must Meet Large-Scale Grid Requirements
The EoI specifies demanding performance requirements to ensure that the software can support India’s extensive electricity network.
The SCADA applications must be capable of handling up to 20 lakh analogue points and an equivalent number of status points. The historian must retain 10 years of operational data online at five-second intervals.
The analytical applications must also support models containing up to:
- 10,000 buses.
- 25,000 transmission lines.
- 3,000 solar generators.
- 2,000 wind farms.
- 500 battery energy storage systems.
These requirements are intended to ensure that the applications can handle the scale and complexity of India’s evolving power grid.
Software Development Focus, Hardware Indigenisation to Follow
The current EoI covers software development rather than the complete SCADA system.
The CEA committee estimated that software accounts for approximately 25% of the total cost of a SCADA system, while hardware accounts for the remaining 75%. A separate subgroup has been established to examine the indigenisation of hardware.
In the meantime, selected developers must ensure that their applications operate on hardware compliant with the Make in India requirements.
This approach separates the development of indigenous software from the parallel effort to strengthen domestic manufacturing of the hardware needed for power grid control systems.
How the ₹10 Crore Funding Will Be Distributed
Each selected developer may receive up to ₹10 crore, with the allocation distributed across the 19 applications according to their assigned weightage.
The EoI provides the following funding allocations for key applications:
- State Estimator: ₹1 crore
- Contingency Analysis: ₹1 crore
- Security Enhancement: ₹1 crore
- Automatic Generation Control (AGC): ₹1 crore
- Dispatcher Training Simulator: ₹1 crore
- Core SCADA Platform: ₹50 lakh
- Historian: ₹50 lakh
- CIM Database: ₹50 lakh
The remaining application allocations will follow the weightage specified in the EoI.
Funding to Be Released in Stages
The financial assistance will be disbursed against defined development and testing milestones:
- 30%: After an application is developed and demonstrated.
- 30%: Following functional testing.
- 40%: After certification.
Applications must score at least 80% to qualify for acceptance. Functionality accounts for 70% of the evaluation score, while the user interface, assessed by control room experts, accounts for the remaining 30%.
Payments will be linked to the proportion of functions that developers successfully demonstrate, ensuring that financial support is tied to measurable progress.
Strict Rules for Indigenous Software Development
A central requirement of the initiative is that the software must be genuinely developed in India rather than adapted from a foreign platform.
The EoI requires all design, coding and testing activities to take place within the country. Establishing an Indian subsidiary, branch, joint venture or affiliate of a foreign company will not, by itself, qualify as indigenous development.
Similarly, adapting, porting or rebranding a SCADA/EMS platform developed abroad will not meet the requirements.
Developers may use commercial operating systems, databases and open-source tools, but every security-critical component must be written in India.
The intellectual property must remain with the developer and be owned and controlled by a company incorporated in India, without restrictions originating outside the country. Applicants must submit an affidavit confirming compliance with these conditions.
Other requirements include:
- Maintaining a software bill of materials listing third-party and open-source components.
- Storing all sensitive data within India.
- Ensuring domestic control over the software’s intellectual property.
- Complying with the specified security and testing requirements.
These provisions are intended to strengthen domestic control over critical power grid software and its long-term maintenance.
Eligibility Criteria for Companies and Start-Ups
The EoI is open to Indian companies, public sector undertakings, government bodies and recognised start-ups. Organisations working with academic and research institutions of national importance can also participate.
Applicants may submit proposals individually or form consortia of up to four partners.
Each applicant must demonstrate power system expertise, either through in-house capabilities or a formal association with an institution such as an Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), a National Institute of Technology (NIT) or C-DAC.
Applicants will be evaluated out of 100 marks and must score at least 65 marks to qualify.
The evaluation criteria include:
- Real-time systems experience: 15 marks.
- SCADA/EMS technology expertise: 15 marks.
- Power system domain knowledge: 15 marks.
The EoI focuses on assessing technical capability rather than requiring applicants to have already developed a complete SCADA/EMS platform.
36-Month Roadmap for Development, Testing and Certification
The proposed project will run for 36 months, with development, testing and certification planned in phases.
The project schedule outlined in the EoI includes:
- First five months: Shortlisting of developers.
- Next six months: Finalisation of specifications with selected developers.
- 12th month: Signing of agreements.
- Up to the 27th month: Software development.
- 20th to 31st months: Functional testing on a platform at a designated load despatch centre.
The development and testing phases will partially overlap to support the evaluation of applications as they become available.
Cybersecurity Testing and Pilot Deployment
The EoI also addresses concerns about cybersecurity and reliability testing for critical power grid systems. The CEA committee had identified the lack of dedicated testing arrangements as an area requiring attention.
Selected developers will be responsible for bringing the necessary hardware and commercial software to the designated test platform.
Security assessments will include vulnerability assessment, penetration testing and source code audits conducted by CERT-In-certified auditors, in line with the IEC 62443 industrial cybersecurity standard.
Applications that pass the required assessments will be piloted in designated control rooms alongside the existing systems. Each application must operate continuously for at least seven days during the pilot.
Developers whose applications receive certification may also be considered for purchase preference when SCADA/EMS systems are upgraded, subject to the eligibility conditions of the relevant procurement process.
However, the EoI is not a tender, and the proposed funding remains subject to the availability of funds and approval by the competent authority.
About Grid Controller of India Limited (Grid-India)
Grid Controller of India Limited (Grid-India) is a government-owned organisation under the Ministry of Power, responsible for the reliable operation and management of India’s interconnected electricity grid. It operates through the National Load Despatch Centre and Regional Load Despatch Centres, coordinating electricity transmission and grid operations across regions. Grid-India plays a key role in maintaining grid security, balancing electricity supply and demand, and supporting the reliable functioning of the country’s power system.
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