India
oi-Deepika S
New Delhi, May 11: With the world’s worst outbreak of COVID-19 severely straining the health system in the country, the government has made sweeping changes in the way departments procure medical supplies, including allowing procurement of the same item at different rates.
Relaxing tendering norms, the Department of Expenditure has allowed global tenders to be floated for less than Rs 200 crore as well.
The Department of Expenditure, under the Ministry of Finance, on April 24 issued special instructions relating to relief operations for COVID-19 pandemic and said that the prevailing health emergency on account of the unprecedented surge in COVID-19 cases across the country requires immediate procurement of certain items in quantities which may not be available with a single supplier and/ or within the time frame in which they are needed.
“The instruction in…