New guidelines for outsourcing of services

At a time when a number of auxiliary and support services are being outsourced by the state government and its agencies to reduce operating cost and provide more effective delivery of public services, the finance department has come out with new guidelines for outsourcing of services.

The guidelines inter alia state that the competent authority proposing to outsource a particular service should estimate the reasonable expenditure for the same by ascertaining the prevalent market conditions and consulting other organizations, departments and public sector undertakings engaged in similar activities.

The authority would also ensure that the available budget provision is adequate for the purpose and then proceed to outsource the service.

Besides, the identification of the service to be outsourced is to be finalized by the administrative department and head of department in respect of its own office or any attached or subordinate office.

The guidelines say that outsourcing of services may be resorted to if adequate manpower is not available in the organization for providing the required services.

The services to be outsourced may include routine services like cleaning and sweeping of the premises, watch and ward, horticultural work, housekeeping services, maintenance of buildings, transport services, courier services, information and communication technology related services as well as highly professional and technical services which are illustrative but not exhaustive.Other kinds of services may also be outsourced in case of the need for economy and efficiency in provision of services.The authority proposing to outsource a particular service should prepare a list of likely and potential contractors on the basis of formal or informal enquiries from other administrative departments, heads of departments and heads of offices and organizations involved in similar activities.

In addition, the authority proposing to outsource a particular service should prepare a tender enquiry which among other things would contain the details of work or service to be performed by the contractor, the facilities and inputs which will be provided to the contractor by the competent authority, eligibility and qualification criteria to be met by the contractor for performing the required work and statutory and contractual obligations to be complied with by the contractor.

The competent authority should be involved throughout in the conduct of the contract and continuously monitor the performance of the contractor.