Transparency Driven Procurement is the Backbone of System: Arun Jaitley

The Fifth South Asia Region Public Procurement Conference kicked off earlier today in the national capital themed “Public Procurement and Service Delivery”.

The basic idea behind holding this event is to focus on the key aspects of Public Procurement that help ensure delivery of services, and identify and address the areas of improvement, a release from the Ministry informed.

Procurement of health and education services, enhancing oversight in public procurement through complaints mechanism, audits, etc., role of ICT and PPP in public procurement, etc., will figure in various sessions in this 3 day conference.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitely laid emphasis on the importance of procedural fairness in Public Procurement and award of Contracts.

Speaking at the event, Jaitley highlighted the importance of transparency and fairness that enable a State to act in the best interest for its citizens in terms of price, quality and service delivery and help avoid elements of nepotism and corruption in public procurement."

He further focused on the special measures that need to be taken by government of India to ensure greater transparency, fairness and efficiency in public procurement via a series of measures including  launch of the Government e-Marketplace (GeM) for online purchases of common use items.

Further he suggested measures to tighten layers of accountability at various levels in the Government.

In inaugural speech he said “South Asia is the fastest growing region, the relevance of public procurement is of key importance to all”.

The conference is held under the supervision of South Asia Region Public Procurement Network (SARPPN).

Around 100 participants including government official from public procurement field, representatives of Development Partners (DPs) active in south Asian countries are attending this event.

The main objective of holding this conference is to meet and learn from each other experiences from the field of public procurement, thus help various South Asian Governments to consider enhancements and innovations in their public procurement systems, enabling efficient utilization of public resources, ensuring quality and timeliness in delivery of services.

About 100 participants including senior government officials responsible for public procurement and related fields, are attending the Conference. The representatives of Development Partners (DPs) active in South Asian countries and resource persons are also among the participants.

Government officers in charge of public procurement will also share their country experiences during the conference, enabling discussion on best practices.