The government will devise a national procurement law that will clearly lay down principles to make the process for all organisations, including PSEs, transparent and competitive to minimise bidder collusion and frauds.
A proposed national procurement law will lay down principles allowing corporates to objectively and rationally face procurement related issues, said corporate affairs minister Salman Khurshid .
“The commerce ministry is working on the procurement law that will help people, particularly in the public sector,” the minister said at a conference organised by Standing Conference of Public Enterprises and Competition Commission of India .
CCI chairman Dhanendra Kumar said PSEs, which undertake huge procurement operations, have an important impact on the culture of fair competition and transparency in the market. Public sector in the country procure to the extent of Rs 8 lakh crore annually.
“CCI is not one more obstacle in procurement but would facilitate them in cleansing the pernicious practice of collusion among bidders to defraud PSEs and public exchequer,” Mr Kumar assured.
According to OECD estimates, collusion and fraud in procurement procedures impact customers to the extent of 17-43%, said UD Choubey, director general, SCOPE.
