MyGov Invites Companies to Develop Online Games for Better Citizen Engagement | All You Need to Know

MyGov, India’s largest citizen-engagement platform under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, is inviting companies to develop web and mobile games for its gaming platform.

A newly released document states: “MyGov is looking to develop Mega (Large Scale) and Mini (Small Scale) games for greater participation and engagement of citizens and for meaningful dissemination of information.”

It is also said that MyGov invites proposals from interested gaming solution development agencies or companies to associate with the platform for conceptualising, designing, developing, and maintaining the gaming platform.

Through this invitation for “Request for Empanelment (RFE)” MyGov intends to short-list potential bidders after following a few steps but the IT Ministry will have the power to reject any or all the bids.

Similarly, it was stated that MyGov will also have the right to reject or accept all or any of the proposals or to hold, modify, withdraw, or cancel the process. Additionally, it may terminate the RFE process at any time and without assigning any reason.

“MyGov makes no commitments, express or implied, that this process will result in a business transaction with anyone. This RFE does not constitute an offer by MyGov,” it added.

As per the document, the last date for submission of queries is March 6 (by 6pm), and the last date for bid or proposal submission is March 21 (by 6pm). All the interested companies or agencies have been asked to submit the bids in Central Public Procurement Portal (CPP).

RFE can be downloaded from the MyGov website and also from the CPP portal.

Companies registered under the provisions of the Indian Companies Act, 2013/ Companies Act, 1956 or a partnership firm registered under the Indian Partnership Act, 1936 or the Limited Liability Partnerships Act, 2008 or an organisation registered under the society Act can apply for RFE.

Additionally, the company must have been in operation for a minimum of three years as on the proposal submission date to be qualified. MyGov also said the applicant should have its office presence in the Delhi-NCR region. In case the agency doesn’t have an office in the said region, it may submit the declaration for opening its office if it becomes a successful bidder.

Why Games

Considering the growing online gaming popularity, to increase public engagement and promote participatory governance, MyGov intends to deploy gaming technology that is increasingly socially inspired by web and mobile gaming mechanics and approaches. As claimed, this initiative is expected to allow players to develop additional engagement models through gameplay.

It is said that the selected companies will be in charge of maintaining the gaming platform’s usability, engagement, interactivity, and liveliness for increased user engagement.

However, after the submission of applications, screening of the pre-qualification bids and evaluation will take place followed by technical qualification evaluation and then shortlisting of agencies.

To offer bidders clarifications regarding the RFE, MyGov will host a bidder’s conference, either online or in person, as deemed necessary. Also, it will give each bidder the chance to ask questions about any area of the project or the RFE.

Game Themes

According to MyGov: “Games are self-motivating. Many research studies depict that games are a great tool for improving public understanding, creating awareness, seeking feedback, learning development and information dissemination.”

It is hoped that through RFE and Request for Quotation (RFQ), an enabling environment will be created and that the concept of strategic and tactical approaches for greater citizen engagement through games will be introduced.

The interested agencies are asked to develop games focusing on national interests such as education policy, city planning, climate change, rural and urban development, sustainable future, war heroes, culture and ‘Swachhta’ mission.

As per MyGov, the developers can also create other types of interactive games such as puzzle games, word games for students, trivia games, shooting games, either in the first-person or third-person perspective racing video games, hidden object games and quiz games.

However, there are some terms and conditions that interested companies have to follow. According to the document, the game’s genre must ensure civic education and information dissemination to the intended audience.

Additionally, while the “mini-games” can be played within a time between 15-30 minutes or for an hour, “mega-games” would be played for a longer duration in stages. It is also said the players should be able to design their own avatars and the games should be playable in Hindi and English.

Each game should be developed as a progressive web app, should be compatible with different operating systems and integrated with the MyGov database.

Roland Landers, CEO of All India Gaming Federation, told News18 that the efforts being undertaken by the government towards developing a gaming platform for MyGov indicate a highly innovative approach towards citizen engagement and participation.

“As India’s apex industry body for online gaming, we support this initiative, and believe that this heralds a new era for game developers and the government, creating diverse gaming outputs and encouraging better participatory governance through public engagement,” he added.

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