Procurement reform -- India

A procurement policy to curb corruption soon The government is working on a new central public procurement policy to bring transparency, curb irregularities and corruption.

The policy aims to plug the inconsistencies in the government purchases as there is no uniformity in guidelines.

he procurement of services will also be part of the new policy for engaging experts on contracts instead of permanent employment involving salary, service benefits and pension to avoid a big drag on the government's economy.

The services are sought to be procured in the PPP (Public, private partnership) mode. So far there are absolutely no rules for hiring experts and others for providing services.

He points out that many countries have such a policy in practice for many years while it is for the first time when India is drafting a foolproof policy.

Raman gives credit for the whole idea to Central Vigilance Commissioner Pratyush Sinha who wrote to the Cabinet Secretary in February, stressing need to put in place a comprehensive public procurement standards in India with a single authority to handle the task.

There will be, however, no centralised procurement, clarified M Raman, who has prepared a concept paper on the draft public procurement policy before laying down the office as the Director General of Supplies and Disposal (DGS&D) last month-end.

Officers who held a round of meetings on Sinha's suggestion, however, disagreed on the controls going into the hands of a single agency.

Raman's draft paper suggests a Central Public Procurement Law to cover purchases by all government departments and organisations and lay down rules for different type of procurements.

He has recommended two laws: A substantive law enacted by Parliament to lay down rights and obligations of the public procurement entities and a procedural law that may be laid down by the government, without going to Parliament, to specify the sector-specific rules and procedures for procurement.

The ministries can tweak the second but it should be "in complete concordance with the public procurement law, both substantive and procedural."