Govt tenders up to ₹200 cr closed to global investors

NEW DELHI: The finance ministry has disallowed global firms from participating in government [as this is not applicable for private tenders] tenders worth up to ₹200 crore, a move in line with the ₹20 lakh crore Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan economic stimulus and relief package announced in midMay.

“Now, no Global Tender Enquiry (GTE) shall be invited for tenders up to ₹200 crore, unless prior approval is obtained from cabinet secretariat,” the ministry said in a statement on Sunday. The move aims to benefit domestic micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), it added. The statement was issued after finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman reviewed implementation of various announcements of the Atmanirbhar Bharat package that pertained to the ministries of finance and corporate affairs. Sitharaman is also minister for corporate affairs.

The finance ministry has also issued a formal communication to state governments raising their borrowing limits by 2% of their projected gross state domestic product (GSDP) in 2020-21 subject to implementation of specific state-level reforms, the statement said.

Announcing the last tranche of the package on May 17, Sitharaman said the Centre had also accepted the demand of states to raise their borrowing limit from 3% of their respective GSDP to 5% that would give them additional resources of ₹4.28 lakh crore during the Covid-19 crisis.

The increased limit was, however conditional and depended on implementation of reforms by them in four areas — one-nationone-ration-card, ease of doing business, power distribution and urban local body revenues, she had said.

In order to give relief contractors, the department of expendi

THE MOVE AIMS TO BENEFIT DOMESTIC MSMES IN LINE WITH RECENT GOVT STIMULUS

ture (DoE), an arm of the finance ministry, has issued instructions to central agencies such as railways, ministry of road transport and highways and Central Public Works Department (CPWD) to give them additional time up to six months for completion of contractual obligations, it said.

Giving details of the ₹3 lakh crore collateral-free automatic loans for businesses, including MSMEs, it said loans worth ₹1.20 lakh crore have been sanctioned under the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) and loans worth ₹61,987 crore have been disbursed. The package also contained a ₹45,000 crore Partial Credit Guarantee Scheme to strengthen NBFCs and micro finance institutions.