New Delhi [India], December 24: India’s public procurement ecosystem is one of the largest in the world, with government tenders worth trillions of rupees issued every year across infrastructure, healthcare, education, defence, energy, and digital services. Yet, despite this massive opportunity, a significant portion of India’s MSMEs remain either underrepresented or completely excluded from government tendering due to complexity, lack of information, time intensive documentation, and limited resources.
At the intersection of public procurement and artificial intelligence stands Ashish Mittal, Founder of Minaions Private Limited, a company on a mission to revolutionise the government tendering process using AI and democratise access to tender related information for MSMEs. In this in depth interview, Ashish shares insights on the market size, the future of MSMEs in public procurement, the explosive growth of AI globally and in India, and why businesses that resist AI adoption risk becoming irrelevant.
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Q: Ashish, can you tell us about Minaions and the vision behind starting the company?
Ashish Mittal:
Minaions was founded with a very clear purpose: to simplify, democratise, and modernise the government tendering ecosystem in India using artificial intelligence. Government tenders should not be accessible only to large enterprises with dedicated compliance teams. MSMEs form the backbone of India’s economy, yet many of them either avoid tenders or fail repeatedly due to lack of clarity, information overload, or documentation challenges.
Our vision is to ensure that any MSME, regardless of size or location, can discover the right tenders, understand them clearly, prepare high quality bids, and compete fairly. Minaions uses AI to convert complex tender documents into structured, easy to understand insights that help businesses make informed decisions quickly.
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Q: How big is the government procurement market in India, and why is it such a critical opportunity for MSMEs?
Ashish Mittal:
India’s government procurement market is massive. Public procurement contributes nearly 20 to 25 percent of India’s GDP. The Government e Marketplace, state portals, PSUs, and ministries collectively issue millions of tenders every year, spanning every conceivable sector.
For MSMEs, this is not just a market, it is a long term growth engine. Government contracts offer volume, credibility, assured payments, and repeat business opportunities. However, the paradox is that while policies strongly promote MSME participation, operational complexity often discourages them.
Minaions bridges this gap by helping MSMEs identify relevant opportunities, understand eligibility, prepare compliant bids, and increase their chances of success without needing large tender teams.
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Q: What are the biggest challenges MSMEs face in public procurement today?
Ashish Mittal:
The biggest challenge is information asymmetry. Tender documents can run into hundreds of pages filled with legal, technical, and financial jargon. MSMEs struggle to quickly identify what is relevant, what is mandatory, and what could lead to rejection.
Another major issue is time and manpower. Tendering is not a one day task. It requires analysis, documentation, compliance checks, and constant tracking. MSMEs simply cannot afford to dedicate teams to this.
Lastly, there is fear of rejection. Many MSMEs feel that tenders are designed only for large players. This perception, whether true or not, discourages participation. AI driven platforms like Minaions change this equation completely.
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Q: How does Minaions use AI to make bidding more efficient and successful?
Ashish Mittal:
Minaions uses AI to break down tenders into intelligent, actionable insights. Our platform analyses tender documents and presents eligibility criteria, scope of work, timelines, risks, and key requirements in a simplified format.
We also help businesses prepare AI assisted bid content, ensuring that responses are structured, compliant, and aligned with evaluation parameters. This significantly reduces errors and improves quality.
From the government’s perspective, the outputs generated through Minaions are clean, structured, and easier to evaluate. This makes it simpler for officials to assess bids, compare responses, and move to the next stage faster. It creates efficiency on both sides of the ecosystem.
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Q: What is the size of the AI market globally and in India, and how does it impact public procurement?
Ashish Mittal:
Globally, AI is growing at an unprecedented pace. The global AI market is already valued in hundreds of billions of dollars and is expected to grow exponentially over the next decade. Every industry, from healthcare to finance to governance, is being reshaped by AI.
In India, AI adoption is accelerating rapidly, supported by government initiatives, digital public infrastructure, and startup innovation. Public procurement is a natural candidate for AI adoption because of the volume of data, repetitive processes, and need for transparency.
AI in procurement improves efficiency, reduces manual effort, enhances decision making, and increases fairness. Minaions is aligned perfectly with this national and global transformation.
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Q: What is your view on the future of MSMEs in public procurement?
Ashish Mittal:
The future is extremely promising, but only for those who adapt. MSMEs that embrace digital tools and AI will compete on equal footing with larger enterprises. Technology is the great equaliser.
Policy intent is already strong in favour of MSMEs. What is required now is execution enabled by technology. Platforms like Minaions ensure that MSMEs are not left behind due to complexity or lack of resources.
I firmly believe that in the coming years, MSMEs will play a much larger role in government projects, provided they leverage AI driven platforms.
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Q: What happens to companies that choose not to adopt AI? Will they disappear?
Ashish Mittal:
This is a hard truth, but an important one. Companies that actively resist AI adoption will struggle to remain competitive. AI is not a trend; it is a fundamental shift in how work gets done.
Fighting against AI is not the right approach. The right approach is early adoption and continuous learning. Businesses that use AI will be faster, more accurate, and more efficient. Those that do not will find themselves losing opportunities, relevance, and market share.
AI does not replace humans. It amplifies human capability. The sooner businesses understand this, the better positioned they will be for the future.
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Q: How does Minaions help government officials and evaluators?
Ashish Mittal:
This is an often overlooked aspect. Minaions does not just help bidders; it improves the overall quality of submissions received by government departments.
When bids are structured, clear, and compliant, evaluation becomes easier and faster. Officials can quickly assess eligibility, compare proposals, and move tenders forward without unnecessary back and forth.
In many ways, Minaions contributes to efficiency, transparency, and faster project execution, which benefits the entire public procurement ecosystem.
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Q: What is your long term vision for Minaions?
Ashish Mittal:
Our long term vision is to make Minaions the default AI platform for government tendering in India and eventually globally. We want to ensure that access to government opportunities is not limited by geography, company size, or lack of expertise.
We are building Minaions as a public good oriented technology platform that empowers MSMEs, supports government efficiency, and strengthens India’s procurement ecosystem.
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Closing Thoughts
Ashish Mittal’s vision reflects a powerful shift underway in India’s public procurement landscape. With AI driven platforms like Minaions, government tendering is no longer an exclusive domain but an accessible growth opportunity for MSMEs. As AI adoption accelerates, those who embrace it early will shape the future of public procurement, while those who resist risk being left behind.
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