IMF Chief Christine Lagarde (Flickr/IMF)In its latest report, International Monetary Fund (IMF) has stated that reforms undertaken by India have shown the benefits of digitisation, resulting in a reduction of the opportunities for discretion and fraud.
“Some reforms in India show the benefits of digitalization and reducing opportunities for discretion and fraud. For example, the adoption of an electronic platform for managing a social assistance program in India resulted in a 17 per cent decline in spending with no corresponding decline in benefits,” said the 2019 Fiscal Monitor report published by IMF.
The report was appreciative of efforts made by the government to digitise procurement of goods and services. “The introduction of e-procurement in India and Indonesia also increased competition and led to better quality of construction," the report noted.
Transparency, Efficiency And Speed
The NDA government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Government e-Marketplace in 2016 to facilitate online procurement of common-use goods & services required by various Government Departments / Organisations / PSUs. This is a significant reform measure as the country spends an estimated 20 per cent of GDP on public procurement.
“Since (it’s launch) this Business to Government (B2G) platform, has eliminated multiple levels of manual, sequential verification and decision-making, leading to dramatic reductions in lead-time in government procurement. For suppliers, too, this has opened attractive new options by eliminating intermediaries and guaranteeing prompt release of payment,” says another World Bank blog on the same.
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