Government Procurement

 Introduction

The present investigation evaluates people in Government Procurement framework and late change
activities in India and layouts the requirement for changes in the institutional structures. There are a
few issues in general society obtainment exercises in India, which come from the divided
methodology furthermore, rules, the absence of straightforwardness, boundless abnormalities, and
inaccessibility of adequate procurement experts. The current activities to build up a predictable and
straightforward Government Procurement framework has not yielded the coveted outcomes. The
rise of the routine with regards to e-acquisition as a crucial apparatus in incorporating general
society benefit conveyance and great administration, nonetheless, demonstrates some forward
development towards a straightforward, responsible, furthermore, aggressive obtainment
administration. The General Financial Rules (GFRs) and other acquisition manuals are thorough in
nature, these should be upheld by the authoritative power.

Lately, the issues concerning Government Procurement has gotten expanded consideration from the
scholarly world and approach creators because of its fundamental part out in the open money
related administration (PFM) frameworks. A well-working and effective Government Procurement
framework tends to issues like wastefulness, defilement, and waste (Jones, 2007), and along these
lines, it enables the improvement to process by enhancing people in general organization. The vital
and effective designation of government consumption (open obtainment) is additionally significant
for meeting the nation's monetary responsibilities. In fact, a sound open obtainment framework isn't
just a moral prerequisite yet in addition a monetary and social one. In spite of its development as a
significant component of good administration, the general population acquisition framework in India
keeps on misery from a few shortcomings. In the course of the most recent decades, the nation has
started a progression of change measures in the framework to accomplish the best an incentive for
open spending. Notwithstanding, the change activities in the obtainment procedure have not
yielded the coveted outcomes.

Government Procurement represents a critical level of open everywhere throughout the world. It
constitutes around 15 percent or a greater amount of the total national output (GDP) over the
nations. In 2013, the assessed Government Procurement was 29 percent in the OECD nations while
it was around 20-30 percent of the GDP in India. Taking a gander at the use design, the
administration use in India has developed from INR 11,973billion to INR 16,637 billion over the most
recent five years1. A couple of Union services, to be specific, Defence, Railways, and Telecom
apportion around 50 percent of their individual spending plan for open obtainment. Considering
such an extensive scale open consumption on procurement, streamlining the acquisition procedure
in the nation has turned out to be basic. Not at all like numerous nations, India does not have an
exhaustive acquisition enactment, and the obtainment administration in the nation seems, by all
accounts, to be divided and conflicting as far as principles, directions, and strategies2.

 Nature of Government Procurement

Government Procurement includes obtaining of products or administrations by various elements, for

example, services and divisions of the legislature for open administration conveyance, and it
envelops exercises running from evaluation of acquisition needs to honours of agreement and last
instalment. A productive acquisition framework shows up as a solid component of people in general
use administration frameworks by helping an element in taking fitting budgetary choices and
recognizing the required venture openings. Nonetheless, the acquisition frameworks in numerous
nations are compelled by a few bottlenecks, and the requirement for changes has been getting
expanding consideration from the partners, for example, acquiring elements, strategy creators, and
obtainment experts. While accomplishing intensity, improving straightforwardness, and diminishing
defilement remain the targets of change activities, especially in creating and developing markets, the
consequences of the changes have not been acceptable.

 Government Procurement in India

Government acquisition process in India is very unpredictable given the government structure for
open administration conveyance. The sacred plans over the Union and State governments, self-
ruling and statutory bodies, open segment endeavours (PSUs), and the neighbourhood governments
request a wide scope of prerequisites for giving Government administrations. The framework in
India has turned out to be more perplexing as the nation does not have an exhaustive open
procurement law directing the obtainment exercises. Without a thorough law, General Financial
Rules (GFRs) permit the administration elements to direct obtainment exercises autonomously.
While the essential standards of Government Procurement are regarded, the framework has
brought about assorted variety in the obtainment framework in the nation. Numerous elements, for

1
Ministry of Finance, 2017
2
CUTS International, 2014; Tabish &Jha, 2011
example, Defence, Railway, Telecom, Public Works Department (PWD), and Directorate General of
Supplies and Disposal (DGS&D) independently issue obtainment manuals to manage open
procurement exercises. Moreover, the framework in India is gone for accomplishing financial
formative destinations including advancement of MSEs through cost and buy inclinations and
reservation of division particular items. These prompt complexities because of various elucidations
of principles and directions at the watchfulness of the obtaining substances.

The public procurement framework in India has four broad features namely constitutional
provisions, legislative provisions, administrative guidelines, and overseers.

The GFR is a compilation of general rules and orders to be followed by the government entities
dealing with the matters involving public financial management. It aims at facilitating efficiency in
government functioning in accordance with the accountability and procedure of financial discipline.
It was first enacted in 1947 which subsequently has been revised and issued as GFR 1963, GFR 2005,
and GFR 2017. The 2017 revision has been done to cope with the recent changes in administrative
works across the government entities and to bring ease and clarity in day-to-day government
functioning. GFR contains a few chapters specific to public procurement.
 Chapter 5 outlines the concerned rules for the procurement of works,
 Chapter 6 outlines the rules for procurement of goods and services.
 Chapter 8 describes the contract management issue.

The main features of GFRs are as follows:

a) Defines works, goods, and services to be procured and the scope of public procurement
b) Outlines the fundamental principles of public procurement like enhancing transparency and
efficiency, instilling fair practice, and promotion of competition.
c) Prescribes monetary thresholds for using specific procurement methods across the
categories of procurements, i.e., works, goods, and services.
d) Describes different procurement methods and their applicability
e) Prescribes Code of Integrity
f) Specifies tender award criteria
g) Outlines general principles and rules of contract management
GFR 2017 additionally incorporates a couple of essential arrangements as said beneath to streamline
the general population acquisition exercises in the nation.

a) GFR 2017 prescribes two-arrange offering where a getting substance has discourses with the
bidder group to finish the specialized details in the principal organize. The money related offer is
called from those whose thoughts were acknowledged, and the offered is granted to the bidder with
the best quality-value proportion. It is required to upgrade the specialized limit of the securing
element by drawing on the know-how from the market (Rule 164).

b) It coordinates to allot higher weight to quality when contrasted with the cost particularly in the
Procurement of administrations through the quality and cost-based determination (Rule 192).

c) It gives accentuation on the utilization of data innovation out in the open obtainment to
guarantee more prominent straightforwardness and rivalry by ordering the utilization of Central
Public Procurement Portal (CPPP) for production of each of the delicate points of interest (Rule 159),
obligatory e-offering for all Procurements (Rule 160), and advancement of electronic invert sell off
(Rule 167).

d) It acquaints Code of Integrity with address honour in Procurement exercises (Rule 175).

e) It asks the incorporation of natural issues in the offer archives [Rules 173(xi), 217, and 218].

f) It coordinates to share the explanations behind dismissing a delicate or non-issuing an offer report
to a planned bidder upon ask for [Rule 173(iv)].

 General Issues with Public Procurement

Following are the general issues with the Government procurement system in India:
 The absence of a comprehensive procurement Act
Without a complete Procurement Act, GFRs enable the administration elements to outline
obtainment process with its own impression of open intrigue. It has brought about heterogeneous
strategies and variety of standards over the acquiring elements. In spite of the fact that GFRs and
other Procurement manuals are comprehensive, they are inclined to unreasonable practices without
administrative support. Ordinarily, embraced far-reaching activities against the partners associated
with unjustifiable practices wind up testing without a solid enactment.

 Lack of standard offer reports

Disregarding the activities for institutionalizing the offer reports and code of agreement
following the global organizations, for example, IMF and the World Bank, there keeps on being an
assortment of offer reports over the elements as far as expansion/reword/redundancy of
statements/arrangements. Such ambiguities and logical inconsistencies in the offer records remain
against the standards of institutionalization, straightforwardness, and responsibility. GFR 2017
requests to give clearness on the assessment criteria based on which the assessment of offers must
be done. And, after its all said and done, numerous offer reports don't have clearness on the
assessment criteria which gives an ascent in the multifaceted nature of the assessment procedure.

 Delays in exercises in Procurement cycle

The presentation of e-Procurement has figured out how to decrease the obtainment cycle
particularly in the phases of production, accommodation, opening, and assessment of offers. In any
case, the obtainment procedure is regularly postponed in the phase of need evaluation, spending
arrangement, and endorsement. So also, inaccessibility of adequate acquisition experts and non-
realization of the required data normally seem in charge of the deferral in setting up the specialized
details. A couple of different issues, for example, suitable need evaluation, the association of
individuals who are being influenced basically in the development Procurements, and natural effect
appraisal are frequently ignored. The development and framework obtainments frequently
experience the ill effects of the deferral in arrive procurement and the administrative/authoritative

 Unfair practices and defilement

Given the size and the interests of the partners, open procumbent is defenceless against
unjustifiable works on forcing high expenses on both the administration and the general public. In
spite of the procedural safeguards, 13 debasement level in India is seen to be high as of late
prompting low nature of open administrations which at last hampers the advancement procedure
(World Bank, 2016).14 As pushed by the CVC, GFR 2017 recommends reception of Integrity Pact
towards controlling defilement and uncalled for hones. In spite of the fact that CVC rules ask for
naming an outer screen to relieve the debasement and moral dangers, GFR 2017 has not endorsed
the same certainly to uphold the Code of Integrity. The nonattendance of far-reaching enactment,
  Infringement of procedural standards and powerless observing strategies
This has risen as the real purpose of the degenerate practices. As a rule, an obtaining substance itself
encases packaging and non-equipped conditions in the offering archives to support a specific
bidder/s which opens up an extension for out of line rehearses. While each delicate fuses provisos
on denying degenerate practices in the offering procedure, there is no unmistakable arrangement
for a punishment in the event that somebody is found to take part in the out of line hone.

 Presence of against focused components

The presence of hostile to aggressive practices by the bidders' group tends to hamper the
Procurement procedure by invalidating the best estimation of cash. Rivalry issues in India for the
most part worry with the conniving offering, offer apparatus, cartelization, and mishandle of
strength.

 Redressal Mechanism

Foundation of a productive redressal instrument is a key component for guaranteeing

straightforwardness and responsibility in broad daylight acquisition by tending to the shortcomings
and non-compliances in an obtainment procedure. India practices a two-level audit framework
despite the fact that this isn't formally determined in the obtainment system. In the main level, a
wronged bidder can report the anomalies to the concerned authorities ofthe securing element. As a
first level survey specialist, a huge number connect with judge (Dispute Review Expert) to determine
any conceivable question in the acquisition exercises according to the Indian Arbitration and
Conciliation Act 1996. In the second level, the abused bidder can move to the courts for settlements.
As a rule, CCI is likewise drawn nearer to address hostile to aggressive issues in broad daylight
acquisition.

A bidder (counting effective), if discovered blameworthy, is suspended either inconclusively or for a

given period from taking part in broad daylight acquisition. While each delicate consolidates
conditions on restricting degenerate practices in the offering procedure, there is no unmistakable
arrangement for a punishment on the off chance that somebody is found to participate in the
uncalled for training.
Article 298 provides for the contractual relation between Government and a private party. And
Article 300 deals with the suit and proceedings against the Government itself. If the Government has
committed Fraud defined under Section 17 of the Indian Contract Act, 1972.

Rank Misrepresentation:
At the point when a man speaks to himself as an individual from a station to which he don't have a
place is conferring an offense of bamboozling.

Demonstrating false records:

At the point when a man demonstrates bogus records of himself or of some other individual to clear
an obligation, at that point is said to confer the offense of swindling.

Making false proof:

At the point when a man gives false proof with respect to some occasion then he can be held at risk
for the offense of swindling.

False expert capability:

At the point when a man indicates false expert capability to procure a post or employment then he is
said to submit the offense of duping.

The trial is done by magistrate of first class. FIR or Application can be filed u/s 156(3) and In case of
private complaint u/s 200(which provides the power to the District magistrate to set up an
investigation if a public servant acting or- purporting to act in the discharge of his official duties).