Public procurement rules eased to fight Covid surge

NEW DELHI: Faced with a shortage of material to combat the second wave of the pandemic, the government on Friday suspended the mandatory local content requirement norms for public procurement of Covid-19 supplies. the government said that the exemption will be in place until September but did not spell out the details, which will be worked out in the coming days.
Although the government had issued the public procurement (preference to Make in India) order on June 15, 2017 to promote domestic production of goods and services and enhance employment, the provisions were made more stringent last year. Since last year, Atmanirbharta or self-reliance has been a buzzword for the Narendra Modi government, especially in the wake of Chinese intrusion in Ladakh.
For instance, government procurement of goods from China and involvement of companies from across the border, with significant beneficial ownership of Chinese individuals, was proposed to be stopped. But the pandemic, especially the second wave, seems to have prompted a rethink when the country ran short of oxygen and stocks of medicines were low, especially with raw material being made in China. Even things like oxygen concentrators come from China.
Some of the ministries have already relaxed the procurement rules after it emerged that India did not have adequate supplies to deal with the emergency. Although the government had stoutly defended its focus on self-reliance, several economists had questioned the basis for the decision.