I&B Secretary Apurva Chandra releases Prasar Bharati's procurement policy

New Delhi, Jun 15 (PTI) Information and Broadcasting Ministry Secretary Apurva Chandra on Wednesday released a policy of Prasar Bharati for procurement of materials, services, and work of the specified quality at the "most competitive prices" in a fair, just, and transparent manner.

The ministry said there was a need to bring in "a uniform and well-documented" policy guideline and processes in place to ensure that critical works are completed on time in a well-coordinated manner with the fewest cost overruns possible.

"In the spirit of ease of doing business at Prasar Bharati, for the first time a procurement policy was released by the I&B Secretary Apurva Chandra in the presence of Prasar Bharati Member (Finance) DPS Negi, Additional Secretary Neerja Sekhar and other officials," the ministry said in a statement.

It said the policy is a directive to all procurement entities in all Prasar Bharati verticals, including All India Radio (AIR) and Doordarshan (DD), for procurement of materials, services, and work of the specified quality at the most competitive prices in a fair, just, and transparent manner.

"To accomplish this, Prasar Bharati was in need of a uniform and well-documented policy guideline and processes in place, ensuring that critical works are completed on time, in a well-coordinated manner, and with the fewest cost overruns possible," the ministry added.

I&B Secretary Chandra appreciated the efforts of the Prasar Bharati in bringing such kind of "a comprehensive policy which will help the organization in achieving many milestones timely," it said.

The procurement process will be segregated into major steps with modes of procurement which will impact on process standardization and reduction in procurement timelines, it added.

"I am confident that the comprehensive policy will assist in expediting procurement processes, resulting in timely budget usage and fulfilling completion deadlines, particularly for infrastructure Projects," the ministry quoted Prasar Bharati Member (Finance) Negi as saying after the release of the policy.

The prescribed timeline for different stages of procurement activities would enhance the efficiency of procurement system of the organization, Negi said.