General Activities

Post the Procurement Consultation in New Delhi in June 2016, various engaging discussions were held with different department of the Government of India in relation to GCNI White Paper and proposed business recommendations.  GCNI team members met senior functionaries of Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance; Trade Policy Division, Ministry of Commerce; and Niti Aayog to share the business inputs on the Public Procurement Bill and seek guidance on way forward.

Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Pune Smart City Development Corporation Ltd. (PSCDCL) and Global Compact Network India (GCNI) – https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-KTs9PrCOWNMHBySDZLZ0JmbVk/view?usp=sharing

An MoU was signed with the Pune Smart City Development Corporation Limited (PSCDCL) entering into a five-year Memorandum of Understanding with GCNI for providing advisory service on governance and compliance to the special purpose vehicle (‘SPV’) created for the purpose of the Project, inclusive of a customised IT solution for governance and compliance and Advisory on Public Private Partnership. The MoU is effective from 1st July 2016 to 20th June 2021.  The non-commercial MoU will ensure that PSCDCL operates in an effective and efficient manner, and attracts best investment to realise its mission.  This tremendous achievement of ours was also mentioned on different media portals.

In the succeeding months, GCNI and its knowledge partners came up with the timelines and the scope of work of the project, which have been crystallized through subsequent meetings and will remain dynamic in the 1st year of the Project.

CEGET – Collective Action Conference was held on 20-21st October 2016 at Basel, Switzerland.

The Conference addressed the latest developments in research and practice on anti-corruption through high-level panel discussions, workshops and key note speeches with distinguished experts and practitioners.  Ms. Shabnam Siddiqui, Director, CEGET, shared examples from UN-GCNI in the area of Public Procurement and other processes that can be supported by open data and collective action.

The 19th Anti-Corruption Working Group Meeting was held on Wednesday, 7th December 2016, at New York, USA.

The Working Group meeting provided a space for exchanging good practices and sharing experiences on specific topics such as Anti-Corruption, Collective Action and the use of ICT, including innovative e-solutions and other web-based platforms to promote transparency.  Ms. Shabnam Siddiqui, Director – Centre of Excellence for Governance, Ethics and Transparency (CEGET), represented CEGET and was part of the meeting.

An MoU was signed between CEGET and HUCOS Advisors on Wednesday 28^th December 2016, to come out with a Mid –Term Evaluation Report.

The Mid-Term Evaluation Report will cover the activities and interventions undertaken by UN Global Compact Network India (UN-GCNI), under the Siemens Integrity Initiative (SII) supported project – ‘Center of Excellence (COE) for Strengthening Transparency and Ethics in Business’. This Mid-Term Evaluation Report provides an assessment and highlights the work undertaken by CEGET under this project, during a 19 month period from 1st March 2015 till 30th September 2016.

Transparency International, Germany hosted a State Owned Enterprises Working Group Meeting in February 2017 at London, England.  Ms. Shabnam Siddiqui, Director – Centre of Excellence for Governance, Ethics and Transparency (CEGET), represented CEGET and was part of this meeting.

An MoU was signed with Procube Project Consultants LLP on Thursday, 16^th February 2017, in order to develop a POC Report.

The objective for developing a POC is to provide a platform for dialogue and communication, and further to propose a structural framework for implementable actions, which will serve as a business case/model for transparency and anti-corruption in the Government of India’s Smart Cities Project/Initiative.  Once completed, the POC Report will provide a standardized framework of governance and transparency that would be adaptable by other cities, while implementing smart cities ideas.

Procurement is an activity of finding, acquiring, buying goods, services or works from an external source, through tendering or competitive bidding process. It is an integral part of governance and financial management system of any country and it accounts for a substantial amount of global and national expenditure.

Through this White Paper, CEGET has identified eight core areas for seeking business recommendation that were arrived at through research and consultation, and shared with relevant stakeholders in the Government. The eight core areas are: Coverage, Competition, Procurement of Proprietary Items, Sole Suppliers and Single Tenders, Transparency, Market Access, Grievance Redressal, Probity and Sustainable Public Procurement.

To access our White Paper –  Business Recommendations for Public Procurement Policy in India:

WHITE-PAPER-Business-Recommendations-for-Public-Procurement-Policy-in-India-CEGET.pdf