The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Now bid for government tenders at the click of a mouse

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Oct 27, 2007
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Now bid for government tenders at the click of a mouse

Nagesh Prabhu

e-procurement system to be implemented in six departments

It will ensure transparency and reduce the cost of procurement
All departments to be covered in the next one year

BANGALORE: In a bid to ensure transparency in procurement, the State Government is all set to implement a common e-procurement system beginning with six departments. The new system is expected to reduce the cost of procurement.

The e-procurement platform will help the Government announce online tenders, online bidding, empanelment of suppliers and contractors, contract management, and other rules and regulations.

The Government signed an agreement with HP India to set up the unified e-procurement platform last year and the system would become operational soon, M.N. Vidyashankar, Secretary, E-Governance told The Hindu.

The Department of E-Governance had prepared a Cabinet note on the subject and submitted it to the Governor’s office. Once the Governor clears the proposal, Karnataka will become the first State to introduce e-procurement in the government sector.

In the initial phase, the project will be implemented in six departments where there is a high volume of procurement. They are: Social Welfare Department; Karnataka State Highway Improvement Project (K-SHIP) of the Public Works Department; Krishna Bhagya Jala Nigam Ltd. of the Water Resources Department; KPTCL, Energy Department; Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) of the Education Department and Karnataka Drugs Logistics and Warehousing Society (KDLWS), Health and Family Welfare Department. In the beginning all these departments had decided to float tenders of more than Rs. 50 lakh. All Government departments are targeted to be online with e-procurement in the next one year, he said.

The officials of these departments had been trained in implementing the system. Some of the key benefits of the project included cost saving to the government to the tune of 20 to 30 per cent of the estimated contract value of the tenders; preventing cartelisation and increasing competition among bidders; and drastic reduction in tender processing time. The Secretary said e-procurement would reduce the cost of procurement since there was no cost on advertisement in newspapers. “It is a win-win situation for all” and the identity of the bidder would remain confidential, he said.

E-procurement would address the common complaints against the Government, he added.

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