Lokpal BMW Tender Under Fire; Amitabh Kant Recommends Tata, Mahindra EVs
New Delhi: Former NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant has called on the Lokpal of India to withdraw its tender for luxury BMW sedans and instead opt for domestically manufactured electric vehicles (EVs) from Indian automakers like Tata Motors and Mahindra.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Kant wrote, “They need to cancel this tender and go in for Make in India Electric Vehicles — either Mahindra’s XUV 9E, BE 6 or Tata’s Harrier EV. They are top-class vehicles.”
They need to cancel this tender and go in for @makeinindia Electric Vehicles – either Mahindra’s XEV 9E, BE 6 or Tata’s Harrier EV. They are top class vehicles.
“Lokpal of India floats tender to buy seven BMW-3 series worth Rs 70 lakh each”https://t.co/hewJAguCcE— Amitabh Kant (@amitabhk87) October 21, 2025
His comments came after the Lokpal, the country’s top anti-corruption watchdog, floated a tender to purchase seven BMW 3 Series 330Li M Sport cars, valued at around ₹5 crore, for its chairperson and members.
According to Business Today, the tender specifies white-coloured M Sport long wheelbase models, each priced at roughly ₹69.5 lakh on-road in Delhi. The bid was issued on October 16 and is open until November 6, with submissions to be reviewed the following day.
The tender also mandates a seven-day driver training programme, to be held at the Lokpal’s office in Delhi’s Vasant Kunj Institutional Area. The selected vendor will have to train designated drivers and staff through classroom and on-road sessions covering the car’s controls, safety systems, and fuel efficiency parameters. Each driver must log 50–100 km of supervised driving under certified trainers.
Kant’s intervention has reignited debate over government procurement choices, with several social media users echoing his appeal for prioritising homegrown, eco-friendly alternatives in line with the ‘Make in India’ and ‘Green Mobility’ missions.
