Bihar govt makes e-tendering mandatory

Bihar Government is planning a major push for E-Governance. The state government has now made e-tendering mandatory under major schemes. The government has also decided to make its offices paper-less.

"Information technology has created big opportunity for us to improve transparency. This is why, we are planning a big leap in our E-Governance project. We are now planning full computerisation of our offices. It will be a major deterrent for corruption and increase transparency in the system," told Sushil Kumar Modi, Deputy Chief Minister and Finance Minister of the state.

He added, "Under this, we have already taken first step and made E-tendering mandatory under major schemes. State Government is now using this to invite tenders for projects worth more than Rs. 25 lakhs. We are now planning to bring down this cap to Rs.3-5 lakhs, so that transparency can be increased in the system."

The state government has also aimed for full computerisation. "We have aimed to make our offices completely paper-less in a couple of years. For this, the state government has initiated training programmes for our employees. We are now tutoring our ministers, so that they can act as role models in this area," said the deputy chief minister. The state government has issued more than 5 lakh digitally signed certificates in this fiscal, which second to Kerla.

The government is also planning to connect Panchayats with IT.

"For this, we have established thousands of Common Services Centers (CSCs) in Bihar. We have also made E-Payment to Panchayats mandatory. The money will now be directed credited to their accounts. It will be a new experience for them."