Letter of Invitation
New Delhi
30-04-2026
Dear Mr./Ms.:
1. City Investments To Innovate, Integrate and Sustain (CITIIS) 2.0, the second phase of the CITIIS program, has been conceived by MoHUA in partnership with Agence Française de Développement (AFD), Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW), European Union (EU), and National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA). The component 2 of CITIIS 2.0 supplement climate initiatives of Government of India and MoHUA through its unique model. The program builds upon the learnings and successes of CITIIS 1.0 and is designed to supplement MoHUA’s actions undertaken through ongoing national programs, while deepening the values of innovation, inclusion, and sustainability.
2. The National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA) (hereinafter called “Client”) has been designated as the Program Management Unit (PMU) by the MoHUA for managing the CITIIS 2.0 program. The Client intends to apply a portion of the funds to eligible payments under the contract for which this Expression of Interest (EOI) is issued for empanelment of Consulting Firms who will be hired by states for preparation of SUCAPs and Contextualised City Climate Action Plans (CCCAPs).
3. Consulting Firms with successful and high standard of achievements and proven experiences are invited to submit their EOIs as per the submission format annexed to this document. Consortium/ Joint Ventures are allowed.
4. If the Applicant is a Consortium/ Joint Venture, the EOI shall include a Letter of Intent to execute a Consortium /Joint Venture Agreement, signed by all members together with a copy of the Agreement proposal. In the absence of this document, the other members will be considered as sub-consultants. Experiences and qualifications of sub-consultants will not be taken into account in the evaluation of the applications. Among the submitted EOI applications, the NIUA will empanel Consulting Firms based on Quality of proposals (QBS), experience and qualification of team members.
5. NIUA shall facilitate the empanelment and communicate the States with the list of empanelled Firms. NIUA will coordinate technically qualified agencies to undertake the preparation of ISUCAP and CCCAPs under CITIIS 2.0. Day-to-day coordination, data access, stakeholder engagement, and local logistical support shall be provided by the respective State Governments and Urban Local Bodies, who shall be engaging agencies (from among the empanelled agency) through separate RFPs. NIUA shall not have an operational role in the execution of the assignment, except where specific technical guidance, review, or support is explicitly requested by the concerned State in accordance with programme provisions.
6. Only empanelled Consulting Firms (bidders) will be issued Request for Proposal (RFP) Documents, including Terms of Reference (TOR) for the assignment by the States and be invited to submit a detailed proposal.
7. Eligibility criteria to AFD financing are specified in sub-clause 1.3 of the “Guidelines for the Procurement of the AFD-Financed Contracts in Foreign Countries” available online at www.afd.fr. Candidates are required to submit the “COVENANT OF INTEGRITY” as per the format provided as a part of their EOI.
8. The EOI shall be published on the NIUA website and e-published on Central Public Procurement Portal. The EOI is free of cost for download. Bid Security / Earnest Money Deposit (EMD) is not required for the submission of the proposal. It is not permissible to transfer this invitation to any other Consultant.
9. Any queries in relation to the EOI to be sent prior to 07-05-2026 17:00 hr IST at the mail ID [email protected] and the responses will be available online by 14-05-2026. For details refer to https://niua.in/tenders page and click on “EOI for EMPANELMENT OF AGENCIES FOR PREPARATION OF INTEGRATED STATE URBAN CLIMATE ACTION PLANS AND CONTEXTUALISED CITY CLIMATE ACTION PLANS UNDER COMPONENT 2 OF CITIIS 2.0". The responses to the queries will also be provided on the same page.
10. The Consultant has to submit electronic copy as well as hardbound physical copy of the EOI as follows –
• EOI should be uploaded as electronic copy in English language only, not later than 17:00 Hrs (IST) hours on 21-05-2026 at the NIUA website. For details on online submission, refer to https://niua.in/tenders page and click on “EOI FOR EMPANELMENT OF AGENCIES FOR PREPARATION OF INTEGRATED STATE URBAN CLIMATE ACTION PLANS AND CONTEXTUALISED CITY CLIMATE ACTION PLANS UNDER COMPONENT 2 OF CITIIS 2.0”. The EOIs received online will be further evaluated.
• The physical copy of EOI should be submitted at the following address - National Institute of Urban Affairs, Core 4B, 1st Floor, India Habitat Centre, New Delhi-110003 by 21-05-2026, 17:00 hr IST. The Check List for submission of documents should be adhered.
11. To substantiate their credentials and to respond to any queries, the Consultants may be asked to make a presentation of their EOI, during the evaluation stage.
12. The issue of the EOI does not imply that the NIUA is bound to select bid(s), and it reserves the right without assigning any reason to
i. reject any or all of the bids, or
ii. cancel the tender process; or
iii. abandon the procurement process; or
iv. issue another bid for identical or similar work
Yours sincerely,
Director - NIUA
National Institute of Urban Affairs