Leveraging procurement for Make in India

Procurement by the government and its agencies constitutes a significant share of the market in many segments. The established systems for procurement are designed to ensure fair and competitive bidding. These are reviewed from time to time to increase transparency. However, the issue of how public procurement can be leveraged for the success of Make in India remains generally absent from public discourse. It is a fairly powerful instrument which can be used to considerable effect. A modest beginning to use public procurement to support domestic industry was made when the government decided to mandate preference to domestic suppliers in public procurement. With a national goal of 100,000 MW of solar power, it is worth attempting the creation of domestic manufacturing capacity for solar power equipment.