In an effort to cut down red-tapism and bring transparency into the system, PM Narendra Modi plans to move all government purchases, from paper clips to power plant turbines, to an Amazon-like online marketplace that could reportedly be worth a fifth of the country’s $2 trillion economy.
At present, the govt uses a tender system to make purchases, which not only restricts it to source products from local suppliers but also gives scope for price manipulation. The new system would allow vendors across India to bid for any government purchase.
The proposed website would be similar to an e-commerce marketplace like Amazon, which would allow users to choose from products listed alongside photos and detailed specifications.
Users have to register themselves using their phone numbers and Aadhaar biometric cards to use the platform, and the govt expects the user base to rise to about 200,000 buyers. Currently there are 1,259 vendors selling 2,534 products to more than 9,108 users across 469 registered government departments.
