After CBSE tender probe, Class 12 student Sarthak Siddant builds 1.66 cr record portal
Class 12 student Sarthak Sidhant has launched a public portal carrying around 1.66 crore procurement records from the CPP Portal. He says the database is meant to help citizens, journalists and researchers examine government contracts more easily.
Class 12 student Sarthak Sidhant, who recently came into the spotlight for analysing the Central Board of Secondary Education's digital evaluation tender, has launched a public portal containing around 1.66 crore records from the Government of India's Central Public Procurement (CPP) Portal.
Announcing the initiative on X, Sidhant wrote, "Transparency needs to be accessible. From today, it is." He said that over the past two weeks, around 1.66 crore procurement records had been scraped from the CPP Portal and made publicly available for citizens, journalists and researchers to explore.
He also encouraged users to download the database and examine the records independently, describing it as "the beginning" of a larger transparency initiative.
A PUSH FOR OPEN DATA
The latest portal expands that work beyond education. According to Sidhant, the database includes procurement information archived from the government's CPP Portal and is intended to make public spending records easier to search and analyse.
His findings on the CBSE tender had earlier reached Parliament, where he appeared before the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education to present his observations on the evaluation system and procurement process.
With the launch of the procurement database, Sidhant says he hopes more people will independently analyse government records and contribute to greater public accountability.
A STUDENT WHO QUESTIONED THE SYSTEM
Sidhant first attracted national attention after publishing a detailed analysis of CBSE's On-Screen Marking (OSM) system and procurement documents related to the digital evaluation of Class 12 answer sheets.
His investigation began after obtaining scanned copies of his own answer sheets and noticing differences in the marks awarded. As more students raised concerns over transparency in digital evaluation, he examined multiple versions of CBSE tender documents available in the public domain.
According to Sidhant, he identified changes in eligibility criteria, performance clauses and certification requirements across different stages of the bidding process. He argued that these modifications raised important questions about transparency in public procurement.
The initiative has already sparked discussion on the role young researchers can play in using publicly available data to improve transparency.
Class 12 student Sarthak Sidhant, who recently came into the spotlight for analysing the Central Board of Secondary Education's digital evaluation tender, has launched a public portal containing around 1.66 crore records from the Government of India's Central Public Procurement (CPP) Portal.
Announcing the initiative on X, Sidhant wrote, "Transparency needs to be accessible. From today, it is." He said that over the past two weeks, around 1.66 crore procurement records had been scraped from the CPP Portal and made publicly available for citizens, journalists and researchers to explore.
He also encouraged users to download the database and examine the records independently, describing it as "the beginning" of a larger transparency initiative.
A PUSH FOR OPEN DATA
The latest portal expands that work beyond education. According to Sidhant, the database includes procurement information archived from the government's CPP Portal and is intended to make public spending records easier to search and analyse.
His findings on the CBSE tender had earlier reached Parliament, where he appeared before the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education to present his observations on the evaluation system and procurement process.
With the launch of the procurement database, Sidhant says he hopes more people will independently analyse government records and contribute to greater public accountability.
A STUDENT WHO QUESTIONED THE SYSTEM
Sidhant first attracted national attention after publishing a detailed analysis of CBSE's On-Screen Marking (OSM) system and procurement documents related to the digital evaluation of Class 12 answer sheets.
His investigation began after obtaining scanned copies of his own answer sheets and noticing differences in the marks awarded. As more students raised concerns over transparency in digital evaluation, he examined multiple versions of CBSE tender documents available in the public domain.
According to Sidhant, he identified changes in eligibility criteria, performance clauses and certification requirements across different stages of the bidding process. He argued that these modifications raised important questions about transparency in public procurement.
The initiative has already sparked discussion on the role young researchers can play in using publicly available data to improve transparency.
