Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Monday said the Centre would have to ensure procedural fairness in matters of public procurement as well as in award of contracts, and warned that a ‘pick-and-choose’ system in commercial activities of the State would lead to allegations of corruption and nepotism.
Inaugurating the South Asia Region Public Procurement Conference, the Minister said transparency and fairness enable a State to act in the best interest of its citizens in terms of price, quality and service delivery and help avoid elements of nepotism and corruption in public procurement.
Referring to a series of measures taken by the government in this regard, including the introduction of the Government e-Marketplace (GeM) for online purchases of common use items, he said in addition to having its own rules and regulations relating to public procurement, the layers of accountability at various levels in the government had also been tightened.
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The Conference — held under the auspices of the South Asia Region Public Procurement Network, which is sponsored and facilitated by the World Bank, Asian Development Bank and Islamic Development Bank – aims to help South Asian Governments to consider enhancements and innovations in their public procurement systems, enabling efficient utilisation of public resources, ensuring quality and timeliness in delivery of services, the Finance Ministry said in a statement. Procurement of health and education services, enhancing oversight in public procurement through complaints mechanism and audits, role of information technology and public private partnership in public procurement, will figure in various sessions, it added.