The state government had regulated the process of procurement and purchases of all nodal departments through GeM, but purchases related to IT had been exempted from GeM on technical grounds
To bring greater accountability and transparency in policy and purchases, the state cabinet Tuesday brought the Information and Technology department under the Government-e-Marketplace (GeM).
The state government had regulated the process of procurement and purchases of all nodal departments through GeM, but purchases related to IT had been exempted from GeM on technical grounds.
However, successive reviews have made the state government to revise its decision and put a cap on questions and doubts often raised by the opposition.
All IT-related procurements and purchases through GeM would provide larger options and better rates on products at the national level. Officials have cited various benefits for the state government from the move. The range of products, along with quality control, would be the primary concerns.
The entire process of procuring and purchasing any IT product through GeM, the government believes, would simplify the process and remove administrative bottlenecks. The foremost benefit would be to check human intervention and influence, which often lead to a question mark on the decision-making. A high degree of transparency was the main objective behind adopting the GeM, officials said.
The state government has facilitated the purchase department to make decisions through the GeM portal of the Maharashtra government. This, officials said, has also ensured that the state takes the lead in enforcing the Central government’s National Public Procurement Policy.