Finance Secretary Dr T.V. Somanathan releases guidelines for reforms in Public Procurement and Project Management
Guidelines attempt to incorporate into the realm of Public Procurement, innovative rules for faster, efficient and transparent execution of projects
Finance Secretary & Secretary Expenditure, Dr T.V. Somanathan released guidelines to usher in reforms in Public Procurement and Project Management here today. The formulation and release of these guidelines is a part of continuous process of review of existing rules and procedures as emphasised by the Hon’ble Prime Minister during his Independence Day address this year. This is being monitored by Cabinet Secretary as a special campaign during 2nd October, 2021 to 31st October, 2021.
The draft of the guidelines was prepared under the aegis of the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) after a detailed consultative process involving experts from various fields of public procurement and project management. The Department of Expenditure (DoE), Ministry of Finance, was nominated to issue the guidelines after soliciting and detailed consideration of the comments of Ministries/ Departments.
These guidelines attempt to incorporate into the realm of Public Procurement in India, innovative rules for faster, efficient and transparent execution of projects and to empower executing agencies to take quicker and more efficient decision in public interest. Some of the improvements include prescribing strict timelines for payments when due. Timely release of ad hoc payments (70% or more of bills raised) is expected to improve liquidity with the contractors especially Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).
As part of Government’s Digital thrust, Electronic Measurement Books have been prescribed as a means of recording progress of works. This system, along with other IT based solutions, proposed in the guidelines, will help in realising the dream of efficient Digital India, facilitate faster payments to contractors and reduce disputes.
Alternative methods for selection of contractors have been permitted, which can improve speed and efficiency in execution of projects. In appropriate cases, quality parameters can be given weightage during evaluation of the proposal in a transparent and fair manner, through a Quality cum Cost Based Selection (QCBS), as an alternative to traditional L1 system.
Executing public projects on time, within the approved cost and with good quality has always been a challenge. As the pace of economic development steps up careful examination of procedures and rules is essential to ensure unwarranted roadblocks are removed and new innovations utilized for increasing value for money of the taxpayer.
The Central Vigilance Commission (CVC), the Comptroller & Auditor General (CAG) and the National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog had carried out detailed analysis of the procedures and rules for public procurement and project management and had suggested changes in strategies to meet challenges of present and future public procurement.
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Finance Secretary Dr T.V. Somanathan releases Model Tender Documents (MTDs) for Procurement of Goods and non-Consultancy Services
MTDs specifically cater to needs of e-procurement, easing digitization process of Public Procurement & help in achieving goal of Digital India
Finance Secretary & Secretary Expenditure, Dr T.V. Somanathan here today released Model Tender Documents (MTDs) for Procurement of Goods and non-Consultancy Services as part of continuous process of review of existing rules & procedures as emphasised by the Hon’ble Prime Minister in his Independence Day speech this year.
MTDs specifically cater to needs relating to e-procurement thereby easing the process for adoption of e-procurement and furthering the ambition of convenient and efficient e-governance of the Government. Such initiatives shall help in achieving the goal of Digital India by easing and standardising the digitization process of Public Procurement.
Tender documents are the critical touch point for the Government with industry and are, therefore, a critical vehicle for implementing policy initiatives on the ground. Uniform sets of tender documents permit Government to express its policies effectively, consistently and uniformly. Uniformity in interpretation and application of public procurement policies and initiatives reflect clarity of application, thereby, increasing compliance and enhancing public confidence in procurement process. Further, apart from sharing best procurement practices, uniform tender documents amplify the positive impact of policy initiatives, bringing economies of scale and increasing competition. They create more efficient market conditions for realising value for tax payers money. Bidders also get broader market access for their products.
Accordingly, Model Tender Documents (MTDs) have now been developed for the procurement of Goods and non-Consultancy Services. These MTDs rationalise and simplify the structure of tender documents. Besides aligning provisions with various procurement policies of the Government, like policies related to Micro and Small Enterprises, preference to Make in India and benefits to Start-ups, MTDs incorporate national and international best practices. The MTDs have been developed after a two stage, extensive consultation with Ministries/ Departments/ Central Public Sector Undertakings, other organisations and individual experts.
MTDs issued by the Department of Expenditure , Ministry of Finance will be guiding templates . In keeping with the Government’s Digital India thrust, the MTDs are being issued in soft template for enabling easy customisation by user departments. Ministries/ Departments shall be competent to suitably customise this document to suit their local/ specialised needs. A separate detailed Guidance Note, as a guide to use of each MTD has also been prepared to help the procuring officials in utilising each MTD. Model Tender Documents, issued by Department of Expenditure (DoE), Ministry of Finance, will be guiding templates.
Government organisations procure various goods and non-consulting services in order to comply with their duties and responsibilities. To improve good governance, transparency, fairness, competition, and value for money in public procurement, the Government of India has taken a number of significant policy initiatives in public procurement in the recent past. The General Financial Rules were issued after comprehensive review in March, 2017. Additionally three procurement Manuals, the Manual for Procurement of Goods, 2017, Manual for Procurement of Consultancy and Other Services, 2017 and Manual for Procurement of Works, 2019, have also been developed.
The formulation and release of these Model Tender Documents are a part of continuous process of review of existing rules and procedures and being monitored by Cabinet Secretary as a special campaign during 2nd October, 2021 to 31st October, 2021.
Documents Links
- Model Tender Document for Procurement of Goods: Click Here
- Model Tender Document for Procurement of Non-consultancy Services: Click Here
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