A major controversy has erupted in Gujarat after the state government’s education department–run Vidya Samiksha Kendra (VSK), the Command and Control Centre for school monitoring, awarded contracts worth Rs. 968 crore, over a period of four years, to ArMee Infotech, a company in which retired IAS officer Sujit Gulatiis a director.
Gulati is a 1985-batch IAS officer. He also served as additional chief secretary in Energy and Petrochemicals Department. He had done B.Tech in Mechanical Engineering. He retired late in 2019.
According to a report in a local daily, ArMee Infotech received Rs.596-crore contract to create 70,000 smart classrooms, including interactive panels, accessories, laptops and notebooks in 2023. Now, two years later, in 2025, the company has been awarded another Rs.372-crore contract to build 43,000 more classrooms.
ArMee Infotech Limited was established in 2003 as an IT Infrastructure & System Integrator with a core focus on Government, Corporate, BFSI, and Education Projects in the areas of IT, AVSI, and allied digitization services. It has headquarters in Ahmedabad and has footprint to over 14 locations across India, ensuring delay-free service and support regardless of the client’s location.
The deals—together totalling Rs. 968 crore—have sparked criticism because ArMee Infotech’s annual turnover was just Rs. 100–125 crore before it received these government projects. Its turnover subsequently surged to Rs. 515 crore in 2023 and crossed Rs. 1,007 crore in 2024, raising eyebrows over the scale of growth following the state contracts.
Even though if one considers that due process was followed, the decision to award such massive contracts to a relatively small-turnover company has drawn scrutiny, particularly because of Gulati’s prior role. He served as principal secretary in Gujarat’s primaryand secondary education department in 2015.
According to information obtained by the Gujarati daily Divya Bhaskar through the Right to Information Act, the 2025 contract was processed through the Government e-Marketplace (GeM) portal, and awarded after a reverse auction. The RTI response states that 43,750 smart classes were to be developed at a cost of Rs. 85,197 per classroom, totalling Rs. 372 crore. The 2023 project for 70,000 classroomswas valued at Rs. 596 crore.
The newspaper has claimed that their attempts to contact Gulati were unsuccessful. However, Brijesh Vohra, representing ArMee Infotech, reportedly confirmed to the daily that the company had secured the smart-class contracts and claimed its turnover was Rs. 125 crore in 2023. He maintained that ArMee Infotech won the bid because it offered the lowest price.
The smart-class initiative, launched by the Gujarat government in 2017, includes setting up projectors, interactive infrared cameras, laptops, speakers, whiteboards and Wi-Fi routers in classrooms. The rapid rise of ArMee Infotech—and its close association with a former top bureaucrat—continues to fuel debate over transparency and propriety in public procurement.
Manish Doshi, Gujarat Congress spokesperson, told Vibes of India that the VSK that has been set up with the support of the world Bank smells of corruption.
He said it is ironical that smart classrooms are being made in Gujarat at a time when the state has a shortfall of 42,000 classrooms and 40,000 teachers since long time. Where are the laptops and other devices been kept when there are no classrooms, Doshi asked, adding that what the students basic facilities first and books on time.
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