Punjab Chief Secretary, Sarvesh Kaushal called for adopting standardized procedures, best practices and means of fairness & transparency in the process of public procurement of goods & services in Government and Semi-Government Organisations, particularly IT Services. He was delivering a Keynote Address at the “ Sensitization Workshop on Good Procurement Practices for Information Technology” at MGSIPA Complex, here today, jointly organised by the Department of Governance Reforms, Punjab Governance Reforms Commission and Manufacturer’s Association of Information Technology (MAIT), the apex body representing the interests of the ICT Sector in India.
Mr. Kaushal said that uniform banchmarks should be established in the process of procurement at the Government level and every organisation must follow those norms for formulating strategies in their sphere of activities. He said that a core team of highly motivated officials of different ranks should be constituted in every Government and Semi-Government Departments for managing procurement processes as per standarized procedure and practices so that there is no scope of any unfair practice.
Emphasizing the need for capacity building and optimal utilisation of manpower in every sector, the Chief Secretary said that human resource development should be the focus area in every Government Department to harness the potential of officers and officials for the benefit of society. He further stressed that participation of every Government functionary should be encouraged to strengthen the organisational structure. He said that the objective of the workshop organised today is to create an I.T. related environment and culture in all Government Departments and to encourage the officials of all ranks to use the modern technologies for delivering speedy services to the people. Citizen-certricity is the need of the hour, he added.
Emphasizing the need of conducting comprehensive review of procurement systems and to identify the weaknesses or vulnerabilities in them, Mr. Kaushal impressed upon all the departments to monitor the programmes constantly and bring about changes in the systems keeping in view the pace of time. Dr. Pramod Kumar, Chairman, Punjab Governance Reforms Commission, in his theme address on the occasion, said that I.T. related programmes and latest management techniques should be integrated in the functioning of Government and Semi-Government offices. He said that Punjab should present a model of procurement procedures for the rest of the country.
Mr. Anwar Shirpurwala, Executive Director, MAIT said that the Association has been working for the growth of ICT industry in India and addressing its Key concerns in a timebound manner. He said that it has contributed in a big way for benefitting all stake holders and transforming India into the next IT manufacturing hub.On the occasion two presentation sessions were held – one by M/s Accenture, Knowledge Partner of MAIT on “ Good Procurement Practices for e-Gov Projects” & “ Security Consideration in Procurement” by BSA (Software Alliance), support partner of MAIT.
About 50 senior officers from 22 departments, dealing in procurement matters, attended the workshop and gained insight and knowledge from the best practices being followed in the IT industry. This workshop provided a platform to enhance the procurement capabilities, skills and standards and overcome the bottenecks/difficulties in implementing e-Gov or other similar projects in the State.Mrs. Raji P. Shrivastava, Secretary Personnel, Government of Punjab and Mr. Rakesh Kumar Verma, Secretary I.T. and Governance Reforms also spoke at the Workshop.Ms. Yolynd Lobo, Director, BSA flagged issues of cyber-security and the need for preparedness on this front. She thanked the Government of Punjab for providing this platform to share and exchange information on best practices in IT-procurement.