Delhi govt curbs hospitals’ direct purchase power, central agency to take over

Going forward, all requests for medicines, medical devices, equipment, consumables, and machinery must be submitted to CPA

The Delhi government has begun routing all hospital purchases exclusively through the Central Procurement Agency (CPA), ending the earlier practice of direct procurement by individual hospitals, officials aware of the matter said on Wednesday.

(Representative image) Established in 1994, CPA procures medicines and surgical consumables for all Delhi government institutions. It is governed by the Delhi government (AP)

The move is aimed at “curbing corruption” and “bringing uniformity” to the procurement of medicines, equipment, and other hospital supplies, said at least two officials from the Delhi government’s department, requesting anonymity.

While the Delhi government’s health department issued an order last month barring hospitals from direct purchases, the system formally went live this week, with CPA clearing its first tender earlier this week for the centralised procurement of linen supplies for Delhi government hospitals.

“Earlier, each hospital was making direct purchases from vendors, which led to variations in both the quality and prices of supplies. However, with this new system, that is going to change,” said an official of the health [department on condition of anonymity.

Going forward, all requests for medicines, medical devices, equipment, consumables, and machinery must be submitted to CPA, which will be solely responsible for bidding and procurement, the officials cited above added. HT has seen a copy of the order.

Established in 1994, CPA procures medicines and surgical consumables for all Delhi government institutions. It is governed by the Delhi government

Further, in exceptional cases of urgent need, hospitals must notify CPA, which will assess and manage any expedited procurement – meaning that even emergency procurement must be routed through CPA.

“The move is aimed at dismantling the cartel that was operating in many government hospitals and involved in corrupt practices. Now, there will be uniform pricing for all supplies procured for government-run hospitals,” said Delhi health minister Dr Pankaj Singh on Wednesday.

On June 2, the Delhi government’s health department issued a notice to all hospitals instructing them to stop making direct purchases or using the cart feature on the Government e-Marketplace (GeM) portal, a practice that had previously led to inflated prices, significant discrepancies, and audit compliance issues.

“No hospital or medical institution is authorised to buy directly or initiate tenders independently,” the order June 2 read, accessed by HT. The health department has warned that any deviation from these instructions will be treated as a serious violation, potentially attracting disciplinary or legal action.