Cabinet approves public procurement Bill

New Delhi, Apr 12 (ANI): The Union Cabinet on Thursday approved the Public Procurement Bill, 2012 that seeks to regulate government purchases of above Rs 50 lakh through a transparent bidding process

The Bill is based on broad principles and envisages a set of detailed rules, guidelines and model documents.

The Bill would create a statutory framework for public procurement, which will provide greater accountability, transparency and enforceability of the regulatory framework.

The Bill provides for the following:

a. Ensuring that competition will be maximised in procurement in the interests of economy, efficiency, and integrity.

b. Providing for adequate flexibility to take into account diversity of needs and types of procuring entities, types of procurement needs and methods of procurement.

c. Providing for a strong framework of transparency and accountability through a public procurement portal and a grievance redressal system in which an independent mechanism, chaired by a retired High Court Judge, would review grievances. (ANI)