Govt mulls nationwide norms for public procurement as part of industrial policy

New Delhi: The government is considering developing nationwide specifications for public procurement of goods by Central government agencies to encourage domestic suppliers to plan their production schedule, an official said.

The proposal is likely to be included in the new industrial policy being prepared by the commerce and industry ministry.

The policy may also suggest extending the offset policy in public procurement in sectors beyond defence such as electronics and ICT.

The official said standardised specifications of products would enable government departments and public sector units (PSUs) to release large orders helping the industry achieve economies of scale.

The government and PSUs procure goods and services worth over Rs 5 lakh crore every year, as per estimates.

Standardised specifications would also help domestic industry plan their production and technology well in advance.

In absence of this, government agencies place small orders with different specifications and requirements.

"Policy actions can help public procurement add significant value to the domestic industry," the official added.

The ministry has developed an e-marketplace portal (GeM) for buying of goods and services by different government agencies and departments.

Offset policy has helped countries in encouraging investments and transfer of technology. This is currently used in defence sector in India.

The proposed industrial policy may recommend extension of offset policy in areas such as electronics and ICT initially.

The policy aims at modernising the existing industries, reducing regulatory hurdles and encouraging adoption of frontier technologies such as robotics and artificial intelligence.

The proposed policy will completely revamp the Industrial Policy of 1991.

A draft industrial policy has talked about creating large number of jobs, promote foreign technology transfer and attract $100 billion FDI

annually.