MAIT Organizes Workshop on Good IT Procurement Practices for Govt. of Jharkhand

MAIT, the apex body representing IT manufacturers organized a sensitization workshop on 'Good Procurement Practices for Information Technology' on invitation by the Department of Information Technology, Government of Jharkhand and JAP-IT (Jharkhand Agency for Promotion of Information Technology). Accenture participated as knowledge partner, while the workshop was supported by BSA - The Software Alliance. The meet was designed to highlight the importance of good IT procurement practices for government and semi-government organizations.

Key Challenges of Public Procurement

The workshop featured a presentation on 'Good Procurement Practices for e-Governance Projects' in which Ankur Malhotra, VP-GR & PP, Accenture emphasised on preparation of new IT procurement procedures based on model RFPs, incorporating amended GFR rules, and other relevant regulations such as those related to energy consumption or e-waste. The goal behind revamping existing procurement practices is to make available the appropriate commodity, product or service to the end-user at the optimal cost in the shortest feasible time span. He also suggested constitution of an IT Procurement Cell to assist in proliferation and adoption of new procurement procedures and to revise the same as and when required.

Mapping the Four-Stage IT Procurement Process

Other prominent speakers at the event included Umesh Prasad Sah, Director, Department of Information Technology, Government of Jharkhand, K.K. Sinha, CEO, JAP-IT and Anwar Shirpurwala, Executive Director, MAIT. The speakers emphasized on the need for closer collaboration between the government and industry to ensure success of e-Governance initiatives. They also advocated a planned, scientific approach to IT procurement to help speed up overall development of the state.

Anwar Shirpurwala, Executive Director, MAIT said, "The main objective of this workshop was to share best practices in IT procurement and to encourage the highest levels of trust and collaboration between industry and government. Such a partnership approach is essential for the success of e-Governance projects and development programmes oaf mineral rich state like Jharkhand, that is looking to empower its youth to take up new ICT-based skills and entrepreneurship."

"With government becoming one of the largest adopters of IT, it is important to address critical issues like project delays, lack of standardization and slow decision making in implementation of e-Governance projects. The MAIT workshop was aimed to create a free, secure and transparent forum for discussing procurement best practices for IT goods and services," Shirpurwala concluded.