New Delhi, Aug. 11 -- The Centre has made it easier for domestic consultancy firms to bid for government contracts, giving them a level playing field under the Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative, according to two Indian officials directly involved in the process.

The department of expenditure (DoE) has relaxed key conditions including high turnover requirements, weightage assigned to experience and minimum payroll staffing for a project, the government officials said. The revised norms discourage procuring entities from setting excessively high turnover thresholds and stipulate that minimum payroll staff requirements are proportionate to the manpower actually needed for an assignment.

The department has asked all ministries to follow the rev...