Public Procurement Framework in India

Abstract

Studies highlight that public procurement in any country acts as a barometer of public confidence in fairness and transparency of public institutions. A number of cases related to corruption in public procurement in the country have been highlighted by media on regular basis. These incidents raise questions regarding robustness of the procurement framework in vogue in the country. Though no special legislative framework dealing with public procurement exists in the country, the administrative guidelines on the subject are quite exhaustive. Procurement is not a state subject; hence law can be made by the Centre for entire country. However, no separate law governing public procurement has been enacted in India. However, public procurement in India is not bereft of its share of issues. Multiplicity of instructions, absence of procurement law and singular emphasis on upfront value of acquisition without considering life cycle cost mars public procurement in India. Further, social and environmental sustainability has also not received the attention it deserves. Studies highlight that migration of public procurement to Internet could provide us savings of up to 25% by streamlining 30% of Indian Union Budget spent on provisioning of goods / services. However, any such endeavor has 70% chances of failure. With only 13% e-procurement research focusing on public sector make matter worse. In the above backdrop, the chapter would cover: Importance of public procurement, Difference between public and corporate procurement, Overview of procurement framework of the country - covering constitutional/ legislative/ administrative provisions, generic public procurement process, various types of procurements – limited tender, open tender, single tender, issues in public procurement of the country and e-procurement initiatives by Government of India and status thereof.

Influence of Ethical Practices on Procurement Performance of Sugar Processing Firms in Western Kenya

“…However, 17.6% of the respondents disagreed and 10.6% strongly disagreed on the same implying that information sharing between the firm and suppliers to some extents promoted competitive bidding thereby improving on service delivery. These results are in agreement with Panda, Sahu and Gupta (2010) who revealed that e-procurement system eliminates malpractices as it enhance transparency and probity by keeping a traceable online electronic record of transactions. On a further note, e-procurement benefits includes reduction of process time and cost, improved service level, increased efficiency, increased customer satisfaction, openness and transparency, increased economic competitiveness.…”

Transparency level of the electronic procurement system in Malaysia

“…Several studies have been undertaken on transparency in public procurement (Panda et al, 2010;Siahaan and Trimurni, 2014). According to the World Trade Organization, transparency involves three main requirements: to make information on relevant laws, regulations and other policies publicly available; to notify interested parties of relevant laws and regulations and changes to them; and to ensure that the laws and regulations are administered in a uniform, impartial and reasonable manner (Bellver and Kaufmann, 2005).…”