E-tender must from April 1 for govt purchases above Rs 2 lakh

Come April 1, all central ministries and public sector units will have to float e-tenders for procuring goods and services exceeding Rs 2 lakh, a move aimed at bringing transparency in government purchases. 

At present, e-procurement is mandatory for purchases of Rs 5 lakh or more. Government procures goods, services and work contracts. 

In January, the Expenditure Department had decided the tender value limit of Rs 10 lakh spent in respect of e-procurement would be brought down to Rs 5 lakh from April 1, 2015 and further down to Rs 2 lakh from April 1, 2016. 

As per its instructions it is mandatory for all central ministries, departments and Central Public Sector Enterprises, and autonomous/statutory bodies to publish their tenders on the Central Procurement Portal ( CPP) after a certain threshold limit. 

In 2014-15, about 3.81 lakh e-tenders were floated worth Rs 2.12 lakh crore. 

As per the latest data, in 2015-16 so far, 471,826 e-tenders have been floated entailing an amount about Rs 3.49 lakh crore. 

Bulk of the tenders are floated by Railways followed by Central Public Works Department (PWD) and defence PSUs. 

In the current fiscal so far, 3.56 lakh tenders were floated for goods, about 93,000 for work contracts and 22,342 for services. 

Source:-The Economic Times