E-Government Procurement Implementation: Necessity of National Procurement Law

Abstract

The benefits of e-procurement implementation for public procurement is a well research area. The adoption of e-procurement results in cost savings to exchequer by increasing operational efficiency, transparency, competition among bidders and organizational effectiveness through automation of manual processes. The review of contemporary research literature brings out procurement process engineering, change management and top management support as some of the critical success factors for e-procurement project implementation. It is also well known that NeGP project was launched in 2006 with e-Procurement as integrated Mission Mode Project. A recent review of the e-procurement implementation by DIT, Ministry of Commn & IT brought out that the progress in this area has been dismal. Barring few states like Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh etc, the project has not taken off. This lack of progress (when seen in the light of rampant corruption in India) becomes a cause of serious concern. In this backdrop we undertook study of various statues, rules and government order governing public procurement in India. In order to develop better understanding of the research domain we undertook template analysis of successful e-procurement implementation by State Governments of Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. In addition, we interacted with some of the stakeholders to elicit their views on how a legal framework could help in smoother and faster roll out of e-procurement projects in public sector. The research methodology followed included analysis based on an elaborate study of various government policies and guidelines and their impact. Fact findings are provided through journal articles, information hosted on government portals, statues, rules, regulations and government resolutions relating to e-procurement and government purchasing. The study concludes that since “Procurement” doesn’t figure in either State List or in Concurrent List, therefore Indian Parliament can make law on the subject for the entire country. However, no separate law governing public procurement has been enacted in India. Finally, the paper brings out broad contours of a modal procurement law that would expedite the e-procurement implementation in India in an optimal manner.