The Finance Ministry has eased procurement rules, allowing select scientific institutions to bypass the GEM portal for equipment purchases. This addresses scientists’ complaints about sub-standard materials. Directors can now approve Global Tender Enquiries up to ₹200 crore, and procurement ceilings have doubled, enhancing research autonomy.
Copyright infringement not intended
Picture Courtesy: THE HINDU
The Union Finance Ministry has rolled back restrictions imposed on the procurement of scientific labs equipment.
GeM is an online platform for all government purchases, launched by the Union Commerce Ministry in 2016, with the objective of prioritizing 'Made-in-India' products.
Under existing rules, it is mandatory for all government bodies, including scientific labs, to select the most economical vendor. While this model works for standard goods like furniture and laptops, it proved to be a major block for the highly specialized scientific equipment.
Scientific experiments demand equipment and consumables of extremely high, international quality standards to ensure that results are accurate, reliable, and globally replicable. Researchers reported that vendors available on the GeM portal supplied sub-standard materials that could not meet the stringent specifications, threatening the integrity of their research.
To purchase equipment from outside the GeM system, a scientist first had to prove that a suitable option was not available on the portal, a time-consuming bureaucratic process. Approvals for high-value "Global Tender Enquiries" (GTE) had to be cleared by departmental secretaries, leading to significant procurement delays.
Freedom from Mandatory GeM Procurement => It empowers the Directors, Vice-Chancellors, or Chancellors of designated scientific institutions to approve the procurement of scientific equipment directly, without going through the GeM portal.
Decentralization of Global Tender Approval => Heads of scientific institutions can now directly approve Global Tender Enquiries up to a value of ₹200 crore.
Enhanced Local Financial Ceilings => The government has increased the financial limits for local-level procurement to account for inflation and grant more flexibility. The limits for purchases without quotations, through a purchase committee, and via tender enquiries have been raised, from ₹1 lakh to ₹2 lakh, ₹10 lakh to ₹25 lakh, and ₹50 lakh to ₹1 crore, respectively.
Source:
|
PRACTICE QUESTION Q. Telemedicine has emerged as a potential solution for improving access to healthcare in rural areas. Analyze its effectiveness and limitations. 150 words |
© 2025 iasgyan. All right reserved
