Karnataka to set up online e-procurement platform

In a new e-governance initiative, all contracts and procurement in various
government depart­ments in Karnataka are set to go digital in two years.

The Government of Karnataka has chosen HP to provide a unified online
e-procurement platform. This program will cover contract management, track the
progress of projects and would run on a public private partnership model. As of
now, Andhra Pradesh is the only state in the country to have an e-procurement
platform.

Government of Karnataka chose HP to provide a unified online e-procurement platform. In the photo (from left) Biswanath Bhattacharya, Director-Sales, HP India and Rajeev Chawla, Secretary, e-Governance, Government of Karnataka are seen exchanging the documents after signing the agreement. Seated (L to R) Dr Malati Das, Chief Secretary, Government of Karnataka; Balu Doraisamy, MD-Sales, HP India and AK Agarwal, Additional Chief Secretary, Government of Karnataka.

Balu Doraiswamy, MD-Sales, HP India, said that this would be more complex
than just deployment. “This is proven technology that we have developed inside
HP. It has been deployed in Japan and would now be customized to suit the
government's needs. The Karnataka Government deals with procurement to the tune
of Rs 13,000 crore.

The platform would facilitate government procurement acti­vities like
publishing of tenders/RFP, bidding online, empanel­ment of suppliers

and contrac­tors, contract manage­ment and demand aggregation. The project also
involves training for not just the government staff but also contractors and
suppliers in rural and urban areas. To facilitate access to the system, the
government plans to set up cybercafes at the taluk and sub-taluk levels in a
public-private partnership model.

Rajeev Chawla, Secretary, e-Governance, said that shared business centers
would be set up in government departments at the taluk level.