Industry missing opportunities in global governmental procurement

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Namrata Kath Hazarika | 20 Aug, 2010
While foreign players' share in India's governmental procurement is significant, Indian companies fail to utilise the opportunity in global governmental procurement due to tough norms abroad, said Additional Secretary, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, D.K Mittal in New Delhi on Thursday.

"We just need to sensitize the industry about it and ask them what we should be doing and what will be the implications," Mittal said in the sidelines of a FICCI conference.

Mittal also urged the industry to give suggestions on making tight norms which can facilitate Indian domestic companies from tough measures implemented by foreign counterparts and opening their market for government supply contracts to India.

He mentioned to take up the issue to the World Trade Organization (WTO) as the government procurement agreement (GPA) should be regulated by the WTO.

The GPA consists of countries like the US, EU and Japan, and if India is a part of the GPA then such a development could help Indian corporates to have an access to USD 2-3 trillion global market of government purchases.

Further Mittal aslo added, "Whatever policies are there for government procurement, we have to fine-tune in those policies. If other countries are following those policies then we should find out why to follow the same."

He urged the Indian industry to provide inputs on the same which can help to understand the implications prohibiting them for global government procurement and also added, "We give access to everybody but we do not get access to their (foreign) markets because they are saying that you are not coming through GPA."

Moreover, in India we also have policies which gives price preference to the Small Scale Industry (SSI) and if GPA membership is given to India then it would hurt this kind of sensitive procurement polices.

We should debate on what kind of measures should be taken place and handle the situation, Mittal added.