Piyush Goyal holds review meet to promote Make in India in procurement process of Railways

Amid the push for Make in India campaign and the Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative, Minister of Railways Piyush Goyal on Saturday reviewed the steps to incorporate indigenously manufactured products in the procurement process for the Railways and the Union government. A review meeting was held in this regard which was attended by Minister of State of Railways Suresh C Angadi, Railway Board Members, CEO/GeM and representatives of DPIIT, Ministry of Commerce.

"Minister of Railways and Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal reviewed the steps to promote Make in India products in the procurement process of Indian Railways as well as Government of India. During the meeting, Piyush Goyal urged to take measures to generate confidence in the industry of corruption-free and transparent procurement environment on Indian Railways," according to a press statement from the Ministry of Railways.

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"While reviewing the steps to promote Make in India products in the procurement process, it was emphasised to increase the participation of local vendors in the procurement process. It was also decided that local content clause in the procurement should be such that we may get more bids from local vendors/suppliers. This would also give a boost to mission Atmanirbhar Bharat. Active support of DPIIT was sought to make suitable policy revisions, if required, to facilitate the efforts of Indian Railways in this direction," the press statement read.

It was felt that encouragement needs to be given to such vendors who can supply higher locally manufactured content. It was also suggested to create a FAQ section along with a helpline number so that vendors may get clarity on various issues relating to the procurement process, the statement added.

A need for devising strategies for increasing the participation of Indian service providers and component manufacturers further was felt. Government e-Marketplace (GeM) is a highly innovative idea in public procurement, across the globe, the Railway Ministry asserted.

The Union Minister felt the need to goods and services procurements for Railways through GeM platforms which will give access to MSMEs and other industries to participate in the procurement of Railways.

"Indian Railways, one of the largest procurement agencies of the Government of India, is integrating its procurement systems with GeM to use GeM's full potential. The department shared the timelines for the integration of Indian Railway e-Procurement system with GeM," the statement read.

(With ANI inputs)

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