National Project Implementation Plan - NVBDCP

12.2.2 Broader procurement related policies
The Constitution of India (Seventh Schedule) lists specific subjects in which the
Union Government or the State Government alone can make laws and
concurrent subjects in which both the Union and State governments can make
laws. Procurement falls in the concurrent list. Procurement of goods/works and
services by MOHFW and the State Governments (except for Tamil Nadu and
Karnataka, who have passed their own procurement legislations) is regulated
mainly by the General Financial Rules (GFR), 2005; State Finance Rules, Indian
Contract Act 1872 as amended to date and the Sales of Goods Act.
12.2.3 Policies related to Health Sector Procurement
Since procurement of drugs is a specialized subject, further guidelines have
been issued by MOHFW to regulate drug procurement. Salient feature of the
guidelines issued by MOHFW are:
The bidder should be in possession of drug license for manufacturing and
sale of the drug on the date of tender opening.
The bidder should be in possession of Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP)
certificate for at least two years, which should be valid on the date of
tender opening.
The bidder should not have been convicted. A certificate from the State
Drug authority should support this.
The bidder should have proper arrangements for maintaining cold chain
during storage/transit, whenever needed.
Apart from the sample to be tested by the inspectors, supplier should also
test the drugs and produce test results to the inspector at the time of
inspection.
At the time of offering for inspection the drugs should not have crossed
1/6th of the life, and should have a shelf life of not less than that specified
in the tender from the date of manufacture.
Each State Government has also issued further instructions which are
applicable for health sector procurement in the state. These are mainly based
on policy of MOHFW.
12.2.4 Country/State Procurement Assessments
A Country Procurement Assessment Report (CPAR) was prepared in 2001,
which provides an understanding/overview of GoI’s National Procurement
System. State Procurement Assessment Reports (SPAR) were also prepared
for the States of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh in
2002 and 2003. Based on these assessments, the existing basic framework of
public procurement rules and procedures in the country requires open tenders
to all qualified firms without discrimination, use of non-discriminatory tender
documents, public bid opening, and selection of the most advantageous
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