Srinagar: The Federation of Chambers of Industries Kashmir (FCIK) has called on the Jammu and Kashmir government to revise its policy on procurement of printed material by government departments and Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs). The existing policy, according to FCIK, discriminates against hundreds of small and medium printing units in the region.
According to the business chamber, close to 1,000 micro and small printing enterprises in J&K are struggling due to a lack of government support.
“These businesses have invested heavily in infrastructure and machinery, but are now facing unfair competition. The new policy allows unregistered vendors and individual brokers to participate in tenders through the GeM portal and e-tendering system”, FCIK said in a statement issued to Ziraat Times.
Contending that this puts registered industrial units at a disadvantage, as they face additional qualification requirements such as previous experience and minimum order thresholds,
FCIK also objects to the government’s advisory giving purchase preference to the Government Press without considering price or quality.
This policy is discriminatory and discourages entrepreneurship, FCIK calling, calling upon the government procurement agencies to treat registered industrial printing units at par with the Government Press in procurement processes.
It also deamds exclusion of unregistered vendors and middlemen from tenders and contract allocation, besides revision of the procurement policy to ensure fairness and transparency.
FCIK also urged the government to address the issue of delayed payments to printing vendors.
