Letter of Invitation
New Delhi
27-05-2026
Dear Mr./Ms.:
1. The Government of India has undertaken various initiatives to promote climate-sensitive planning and development. During COP26 under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change held at Glasgow in November 2021, the Honourable Prime Minister of India presented the five nectar elements (Panchamrit) of India’s climate actions, which include achieving the target of net zero emissions by 2070. Moreover, there are eight National Missions under the National Action Plan on Climate Change which are focused on climate change adaptation and mitigation. One of them is the National Mission on Sustainable Habitat (NMSH) anchored at MoHUA.
2. CITIIS 2.0, the second phase of the CITIIS program, has been conceived by MoHUA in collaboration with AFD, KfW, EU, and NIUA. 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. CITIIS 2.0 has following objectives -
• Foster climate-sensitive planning and action – The program will nurture climate planning and action in States and cities through evidence-driven approaches.
• Drive investments into urban climate action – The program will provide financial assistance for competitively selected projects promoting circular economy with focus on integrated waste management.
• Build institutional mechanisms, leverage partnerships and anchor capacity building – The program will help put into place a climate governance framework at the State and City levels as well as provide a three-tier technical assistance structure with domestic, international, and transversal experts to support capacity development for climate action in cities and States.
3. 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 selection of a Consulting Firm. The duration of the services is expected to extend up to 24 months depending upon the nature of the projects to be extended as per requirements with mutual consent between parties.
4. Consulting Firms/ Joint Venture (JV) of Firms (Bidder) 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. A Bidder may be private entity, government-owned entity, or any combination of them with a formal intent to enter into an agreement or under an existing agreement in the form of a joint venture (JV).
5. If the Applicant is a JV, the EOI shall include a Letter of Intent to execute a JV 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 considered in the evaluation of the applications.
6. Among the submitted EOI applications, the CITIIS PMU will shortlist upto six (6) Consulting Firms based on Quality of proposals (QBS).
7. Only shortlisted bidders will be issued Request for Proposal (RFP) Documents, including Terms of Reference (TOR) for the assignment and be invited to submit a detailed proposal. CITIIS-PMU expects to appoint one Consulting Firm/ JV in this bidding process. In accordance with Government of India Procurement Guidelines and AFD Procurement Guidelines, Quality cum Cost Based Selection (QCBS) mode of procurement will be adopted in the RFP.
8. 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.
9. The EOI shall be published on the NIUA website and e-published on CPPP. 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.
10. Any queries in relation to the EOI to be sent prior to 03-06-2026 17:00 hr IST at the e-mail ID: [email protected] and the responses will be available online by 10-06-2026. For details refer to https://niua.in/tenders page and click on “Invitation for EOI for Consultancy Services for Technical Assistance under the CITIIS Program –Transversal Experts". The responses to the queries will also be provided on the same page.
11. 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 1700 Hrs hours on 17-06-2026, 17:00 hr IST at the NIUA website. For details on online submission, refer to https://niua.in/tenders page and click on. The Check List for submission of documents should be adhered. Late submissions would be rejected.
• The physical copy of EOI should also be submitted at the following address - National Institute of Urban Affairs, Core 4B, 1st Floor, India Habitat Centre, New Delhi-110003 by 17-06-2026, 17:00 hr IST.
12. 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.
13. 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