Gujarat Govt Unveils Purchase Policy With Special Boost For MSMEs, Women Entrepreneurs

The state government unveiled the Gujarat Purchase Policy 2024 and said that the policy will be effective from April 1, and continue to be active till another policy is announced

The Gujarat government announced on Saturday a purchase policy to provide special incentives to MSMEs and female entrepreneurs in the government procurement of goods and services. The state government unveiled the Gujarat Purchase Policy 2024 and said that the policy will be effective from April 1, and continue to be active till another policy is announced with more changes or extra provisions. 

 The policy, announced under CM Bhupendra Patel’s direction, will include the procurements of goods and services by all state government departments, district offices, authorities, HODs, grant-in-aid institutions, corporations, societies, and boards, the CMO informed via an official release.

The authorities stated that the government plans to give special incentives to MSMEs and female-led industries in government procurement, reported PTI. This vision remained in line with the Prime Minister’s ‘mantra for Vocal for Local’, the release added.

It further noted that the new policy will help provide a boost to procurement from micro, cottage, and small enterprises (MSMEs), specifically the ones owned by SCs, STs, and women business owners. The policy will also help support procurement from MSEs based out of the state, against other suppliers, and give a push to start-ups in Gujarat, it stated.

According to the policy, local suppliers would be exempted from tender fees and earnest money deposits (EMDs) and the state government fixed several limits in the range of Rs 5 lakh to Rs 15 lakh for purchases without tender process. 

It also provides relaxation to start-ups from minimum prior experience and turnover requirement criteria to encourage their ventures. The release noted that the policy would give priority to the procurement of goods and services from suppliers with high-value additions in India and Gujarat.

The government’s policy also stated that all goods and services procurement above Rs 1 lakh would take place via e-tender only, including the ones conducted via the Government e-Marketplace (GeM) portal.