India has cancelled a tender for making 44 semi-high speed "Vande Bharat" trains, the Railway Ministry said on Twitter on Friday night.

The ministry tweeted a fresh tender will be issued within a week and it will stress on the centre's Make In India programme.

India's first two Vande Bharat trains were flagged off last year.

Earlier, Chinese joint venture, CRRC Pioneer Electric (India) Pvt Ltd, was the only foreign bidder among the six contenders to supply 44 sets of semi-high speed trains. The other five bidders were Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd, Bharat Industries, Sangrur, Electrowaves Electronics Pvt Ltd, Medha Servo Drives Pvt Ltd, and Powernetics Equipment India Pvt Ltd, according to the Railway Ministry.

An NTDV report stated, the railways had already scrapped a tender for thermal cameras meant for COVID-19 surveillance after Indian firms alleged that the tender specifications favoured a Chinese company. The Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Ltd too cancelled a ₹ 470-crore contract with a Chinese firm days after the border clash in mid-June.

India tightened its trade ties with China after border tensions escalated to a violent face-off in eastern Ladakh in June where India lost 20 soldiers.