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A model tender document for public procurement
Why is it in news?
- The Finance Ministry has drafted a model tender document for public procurement by all central government departments.
Details:
- Public procurement refers to the purchase of goods and services by the public sector or the government.
- The public procurement accounts for an average 15% of GDP globally.
- In India, government procurement is estimated to constitute about 30% of GDP. The central government accounts for a major chunk.
- The new document seeks to increase effectiveness, good governance, competition and value-for-money in public procurement.
- The Government is in a process to standardise the language and clauses included, and avoid contractual disputes.
Background:
- There is no standardised nomenclature in public procurement in India and a mix of American, European and Indian nomenclature has become common.
- A ‘Tender’ is taken to mean ‘Tender document’ or ‘Tender Process’ as well as the ‘Bid’ submitted by the prospective suppliers.
- Similarly, participants in the Tender are called tenderers and bidders.
- The new document seeks to ease out this duality by mooting that the ‘Tender’ should refer to the tender document and process, while the term ‘Bid’ shall refer to the bidders’ pitches.