Procurement through GeM portal causes delay, Army wants to continue old system

Army wants Rs 8.5 crore additional fund to modernize each military station at par with smart city

The Army wants to continue with its old procurement system for a few more months as the new mode of doing it through the Government e-Marketing portal still has glitches. 

The army also asked for an additional fund of Rs 8.5 crore for each military station for modernization required to bring the stations across the country at par with the smart cities being developed by the government.

The Indian Army commanders, who are currently meeting in New Delhi, resolved to obtain permission from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Government to continue with the 2016 Defence Procurement Procedure in view of the certain hiccups in the newly introduced system of doing it through the Government e-Marketing or the GeM portal.

“As per the government's directions, all procurements have to be (done) through (the) GeM. Presently, the complete system has not stabilized and certain procedural issues have come to the fore resulting in delays,” Lt. Gen. Vijay Singh, Director General (Staff Duties) of Indian Army, said.

He was briefing journalists about the issues discussed by the army commanders in a conference, which commenced on Monday and would conclude on Sunday.

“Necessary government sanction has been proposed to be obtained to allow procurement through the existing system, till March 31, 2018, when the GeM as a system is likely to stabilize,” said Singh.

The GeM portal was developed by the Directorate General of Supplies and Disposal with support from National e-Governance Division of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology - after two Groups of Secretaries recommended to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to set up a dedicated e-market for different goods and services procured or sold by the Government or the Public Sector Undertakings.

The portal was launched on by the then Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in August 2016. The government directed all its departments, PSUs as well as the armed forces to procure goods and services through the portal.

The Army, however, experienced several procedural problems while moving to the new procurement system, resulting in delay and shortage of not only military hardware but also of stuff in the depots of the Canteen Stores Department in the military stations.

The Army Commanders' Conference also discussed the development required for the military stations in accordance with the government's Smart City mission. “There is need to modernize military stations at par with smart city plan and, with this in view, there is a need for allotment of 15% additional funds for a period of five years so that essential external services can be revamped,” said Singh. “A total cost of Rs 8.5 crore per military station is envisaged.”