Committed to fairness, transparency in public procurement:Govt

The government attaches great importance to transparency in public procurement and it has raised citizens' expectations in terms of outcomes of public spending, Union Minister Pon Radhakrishnan said here today.
The minister of state for finance in his inaugural address at the 3rd Global Procurement Summit also highlighted efforts of the government to promote sustainable procurement, especially in the case of promotion of LED lamps and electrification railways projects, among others.
The two-day summit is being organised by the All India Management Association (AIMA), the World Bank and the Government of India.
The government "attaches great importance to fairness, transparency and accountability" in public procurement, he said, adding that it has raised the citizens' expectation in terms of efficiency and outcomes of public spending.

The present government, he said, has a clear vision of transforming the procurement and public service delivery.
Expenditure Secretary Ajay Narayan Jha said the government has brought in a "paradigm shift" in procurement to ensure it is "fair and transparent" and includes an accountability process covering the entire value chain.

The theme of the summit is 'New Frontiers Faced in the Transformation Process of Procurement Today'.
More than 200 procurement officials from across the world are attending the Summit.
The speakers include government officials from India, the US and the UK besides senior leaders from the World Bank, public and private sector companies and global consultants.

The peer-to-peer dialogue at the summit hopes to achieve greater cooperation across nations and sectors in sharing procurement knowledge and skills, said a finance ministry release.