(a) whether the Government had asked all the Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) to clear all dues of contractors and suppliers by October 15, 2019 and to create a portal for transparency, wherein the service providers, suppliers and contractors can check the status of their bills and payments; and
(b) if so, the details thereof along with the progress made so far in this regard?
THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR FINANCE
(DR. BHAGWAT KISHANRAO KARAD)
(a) and (b) : The Government reviews the issue of procurement of goods and services by Government entities including of Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs). The Government has set up Government e-Marketplace (GEM) as the National Public Procurement Portal for providing procurement of goods and services by Central and State Government Organizations. GEM portal has provision for uploading of bills by vendors and tracking payment status. The Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) has instructed all CPSEs to mandatorily onboard the GEM portal and procure commonly used goods and services from GEM. The Government has also set up SAMADHAN portal under the Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises to track the status of outstanding dues to Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs). As per available information, the procurement by CPSEs from MSEs has increased from Rs. 40,817.78 crore in 2020-21 to Rs. 52,229.19 crore in 2021-22. The procurement by CPSEs through GEM has also increased from Rs. 7,027.3 crore in 2020-21 to Rs. 45,971 crore in 2021-22.
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