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The union government has told the central Public Sector Units (PSUs) and other government departments not to be rigid with the artificial entry barriers concerning prior experience and turnover terms in the tenders. According to a government official, the government seeks to boost the participation of MSMEs and companies SC/ST-owned companies in the tender process.
In 2017-18, the procurement from SC/ST-owned enterprises was 0.5 per cent.
As per the Public Procurement Policy, the PSUs should procure 20 per cent of the input materials from the MSMEs annually, including 4 per cent from the SC/ST-owned MSMEs.
In April this year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed dismay over CPSEs procuring less from the MSMEs. Modi prompted them to buy more from the small units and pay them on time.
The CPSEs did procure in excess of the 20 per cent target from the MSMEs at INR 26,207.46 crore in FY18, out of the total worth over INR 1,15 lakh crores. However, the procurement from SC/ST owned enterprises registered only INR 541.8 crores.
MSME Secretary A K Panda said that the ministry had repeatedly told the CPSEs and government departments to remove the artificial entry barriers and consider only the quality and the competitive pricing.
The secretary said that the tendering norms for MSMEs and SC/ST-owned enterprises should be different from that for the others because the CPSEs and PSUs procure only 20 per cent from the MSMEs and 4 per cent from the SC/ST-owned units.
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