Procurement: World Bank offers help

World Bank on Friday offered to help India to improve its public procurement system and said even a marginal improvement in efficiency can yield huge savings.

"The challenge for India is to establish a procurement system that serves the economic and social needs of the country.... the World Bank stands ready to assist in meeting this challenge," World Bank Head -- India, Rachid Benmessaoud said at Assocham-World Bank seminar on 'Public Procurement'. 

The challenge was of equal importance to both the government and the private sector, which could only be met through collaborative efforts, he said.

The offer comes at a time when the government is actively exploring ways to improve its procurement system.

Pointing that the government spend upward of 20 per cent of their overall budget on the purchase of goods, works and services, he said even a marginal improvement in procurement efficiency has the potential for yielding impressive saving.

"Procurement, when it is effective, can improve service delivery, enhance trust between government and citizens and assist in the development of a vibrant and competitive private sector," Benmessaoud said.

He termed the effective public procurement process as a critical driver of economic growth.

"The public procurement decisions have major impact on the growth of the economy, the growth of sectors in the economy and the growth of individual firms," he said.

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