Latest news with #PublicProcurement
The Independent
25-07-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Cabinet ministers urged to ensure contracts go to firms that boost British jobs
Cabinet ministers have been told to make sure Government contracts go to companies that will boost British jobs. Rachel Reeves and Pat McFadden have told their Cabinet colleagues to 'ensure the creation of British jobs, productivity-enhancing opportunities, and skills are prioritised in every major contract'. The Chancellor and the Cabinet Office chief said the hundreds of billions of public spending on roads, railway lines and hospitals promised over the next decade are an opportunity to deliver more British jobs. They also urged ministers to make efforts for their departments to direct more spending to smaller businesses and social enterprises and reduce barriers that are hindering them as they compete with established bidders. They wrote in a letter to Cabinet ministers: 'We want people around the UK to feel the full impact of government spending through investment in skills and high-quality jobs. 'That's why we're going further to ensure public procurement expenditure boosts British industry, jobs, skills, productivity, and expands the supply side. 'Every department needs to be pulling this procurement lever to support economic growth and strengthen our economic security. It is possible to do this within our trade agreements, as other countries do.' It comes after Mr McFadden, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, proposed an overhaul of public procurement rules last month that would mean public bodies have to give more weight to firms which can prove they will boost British jobs when they are bidding for contracts. The change is set to apply to major projects such as transport, as well as other schemes including hospital and school building. 'We are asking all secretaries of state to satisfy themselves that your department, and arm's-length bodies, have the commercial capacity and capability to ensure the creation of British jobs, productivity-enhancing opportunities, and skills are prioritised in every major contract,' Mr McFadden and Ms Reeves wrote. They also told Cabinet colleagues to 'set ambitious and stretching targets for increasing your procurement spend with SMEs and social enterprises while stripping away requirements and processes that are barriers to these firms competing with established players'. They said commercial teams within departments are not a 'back office function' but a 'strategic policy lever' and 'must be a priority'.
Yahoo
25-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Cabinet ministers urged to ensure contracts go to firms that boost British jobs
Cabinet ministers have been told to make sure Government contracts go to companies that will boost British jobs. Rachel Reeves and Pat McFadden have told their Cabinet colleagues to 'ensure the creation of British jobs, productivity-enhancing opportunities, and skills are prioritised in every major contract'. The Chancellor and the Cabinet Office chief said the hundreds of billions of public spending on roads, railway lines and hospitals promised over the next decade are an opportunity to deliver more British jobs. They also urged ministers to make efforts for their departments to direct more spending to smaller businesses and social enterprises and reduce barriers that are hindering them as they compete with established bidders. They wrote in a letter to Cabinet ministers: 'We want people around the UK to feel the full impact of government spending through investment in skills and high-quality jobs. 'That's why we're going further to ensure public procurement expenditure boosts British industry, jobs, skills, productivity, and expands the supply side. 'Every department needs to be pulling this procurement lever to support economic growth and strengthen our economic security. It is possible to do this within our trade agreements, as other countries do.' It comes after Mr McFadden, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, proposed an overhaul of public procurement rules last month that would mean public bodies have to give more weight to firms which can prove they will boost British jobs when they are bidding for contracts. The change is set to apply to major projects such as transport, as well as other schemes including hospital and school building. 'We are asking all secretaries of state to satisfy themselves that your department, and arm's-length bodies, have the commercial capacity and capability to ensure the creation of British jobs, productivity-enhancing opportunities, and skills are prioritised in every major contract,' Mr McFadden and Ms Reeves wrote. They also told Cabinet colleagues to 'set ambitious and stretching targets for increasing your procurement spend with SMEs and social enterprises while stripping away requirements and processes that are barriers to these firms competing with established players'. They said commercial teams within departments are not a 'back office function' but a 'strategic policy lever' and 'must be a priority'.
Time of India
22-06-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Proposed dilution of local content rules may hurt Indian telecom firms, benefit MNCs: GTRI
New Delhi: Major dilutions to local content rules for the telecom sector under the Public Procurement Order could negatively impact Indian firms by giving greater access to multinational corporations (MNCs) in government contracts without manufacturing in India, according to the Global Trade Research Initiative ( GTRI ) . The GTRI in a note further said that the move will benefit major foreign MNCs active in the Indian telecom component industry. Earlier this month, on June 3, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) initiated a public consultation to revise its Public Procurement (Preference to Make in India) (PPP-MII) Order for the telecom sector. The consultation, open to industry comments until July 3, proposes a series of technical adjustments to the existing local content (LC) framework -- changes that could have far-reaching consequences for the sector's future. "Department of Telecommunications (DoT) is moving to relax local content norms for government telecom procurement -- a shift that could favour multinational corporations (MNCs) like Cisco and Ericsson while undermining Indian manufacturers who have invested in domestic production and innovation," GTRI's note added prepared by former Indian Trade Service Officer, Ajay Srivastava said. It added that MNCs are "lobbying India's Department of Telecommunications (DoT) to ease local content (LC) requirements, as they struggle to qualify as Class-I local suppliers for government telecom tenders." India's current PPP-MII policy, which was first updated in October 2024, mandates that any firm seeking preference in government telecom tenders must meet a minimum 50 per cent local content threshold. Srivastava added in the note that in order to qualify as a "Class-I" supplier and enjoy pricing and selection advantages, firms must demonstrate that at least 50 per cent of a product's value is sourced or manufactured in India which has become a difficult task for MNCs. The PPP-MII policy applies to 36 key telecom product categories -- including routers, ethernet switches, GPON devices, media gateways, customer premises equipment (CPE), satellite terminals, telecom batteries, and optical fibre and cables. Under the current PPP-MII framework, several exclusions apply to the calculation of local content. Imported parts routed through Indian resellers, royalties, overseas technical fees, and refurbished products do not count toward Indian value addition. Design and software work performed in India is permitted, but the value generated is capped, with restrictions in place to prevent companies from inflating LC percentages purely on the basis of R&D activities while continuing to import most hardware components. Srivastava added in the note that global majors are finding it "difficult to meet these thresholds." He further added that the underlying issue is that most of the work performed in India is done on an outsourcing basis for their foreign parent companies. The parent companies retain ownership of intellectual property (IP) and earn the bulk of profits. Highlighting the impact of policy change, GTRI note said that the move will put Indian telecom firms -- who have made long-term investments in Indian-based manufacturing, R&D, and IP development -- at a severe disadvantage. "Such Indian firms would face the prospect of losing market share to foreign MNCs whose products remain largely imported and foreign-owned," the GTRI note added. It further points out that dilution of standards would discourage Indian firms from investing in genuine IP creation, as Class-I status could now be achieved simply through superficial assembly or software wrapping of imported goods. "India's telecom sector would remain reliant on foreign technologies, with little strategic control," the GTRI note added.
India Gazette
22-06-2025
- Business
- India Gazette
Proposed dilution of local content rules may hurt Indian telecom firms, benefit MNCs: GTRI
New Delhi [India], June 22 (ANI): Major dilutions to local content rules for the telecom sector under the Public Procurement Order could negatively impact Indian firms by giving greater access to multinational corporations (MNCs) in government contracts without manufacturing in India, according to the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) . The GTRI in a note further said that the move will benefit major foreign MNCs active in the Indian telecom component industry. Earlier this month, on June 3, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) initiated a public consultation to revise its Public Procurement (Preference to Make in India) (PPP-MII) Order for the telecom sector. The consultation, open to industry comments until July 3, proposes a series of technical adjustments to the existing local content (LC) framework -- changes that could have far-reaching consequences for the sector's future. 'Department of Telecommunications (DoT) is moving to relax local content norms for government telecom procurement -- a shift that could favour multinational corporations (MNCs) like Cisco and Ericsson while undermining Indian manufacturers who have invested in domestic production and innovation,' GTRI's note added prepared by former Indian Trade Service Officer, Ajay Srivastava said. It added that MNCs are 'lobbying India's Department of Telecommunications (DoT) to ease local content (LC) requirements, as they struggle to qualify as Class-I local suppliers for government telecom tenders.' India's current PPP-MII policy, which was first updated in October 2024, mandates that any firm seeking preference in government telecom tenders must meet a minimum 50 per cent local content threshold. Srivastava added in the note that in order to qualify as a 'Class-I' supplier and enjoy pricing and selection advantages, firms must demonstrate that at least 50 per cent of a product's value is sourced or manufactured in India which has become a difficult task for MNCs. The PPP-MII policy applies to 36 key telecom product categories -- including routers, ethernet switches, GPON devices, media gateways, customer premises equipment (CPE), satellite terminals, telecom batteries, and optical fibre and cables. Under the current PPP-MII framework, several exclusions apply to the calculation of local content. Imported parts routed through Indian resellers, royalties, overseas technical fees, and refurbished products do not count toward Indian value addition. Design and software work performed in India is permitted, but the value generated is capped, with restrictions in place to prevent companies from inflating LC percentages purely on the basis of R&D activities while continuing to import most hardware components. Srivastava added in the note that global majors are finding it 'difficult to meet these thresholds.' He further added that the underlying issue is that most of the work performed in India is done on an outsourcing basis for their foreign parent companies. The parent companies retain ownership of intellectual property (IP) and earn the bulk of profits. Highlighting the impact of policy change, GTRI note said that the move will put Indian telecom firms -- who have made long-term investments in Indian-based manufacturing, R&D, and IP development -- at a severe disadvantage. 'Such Indian firms would face the prospect of losing market share to foreign MNCs whose products remain largely imported and foreign-owned,' the GTRI note added. It further points out that dilution of standards would discourage Indian firms from investing in genuine IP creation, as Class-I status could now be achieved simply through superficial assembly or software wrapping of imported goods. 'India's telecom sector would remain reliant on foreign technologies, with little strategic control,' the GTRI note added. (ANI)
Time of India
22-06-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Telecom policy shift may hit Indian firms: GTRI flags risk from easing of local content rules, warns of MNC dominance
Major relaxations proposed in local content rules for the telecom sector under the Public Procurement Order could undermine Indian manufacturers and favour multinational corporations (MNCs), the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) said in a new report. The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has initiated a public consultation process, open till July 3, to revise the Public Procurement (Preference to Make in India) (PPP-MII) Order for the telecom sector. The consultation proposes technical amendments to the existing local content (LC) framework that could significantly reshape participation in government telecom procurement. 'Department of Telecommunications (DoT) is moving to relax local content norms for government telecom procurement – a shift that could favour multinational corporations (MNCs) like Cisco and Ericsson while undermining Indian manufacturers who have invested in domestic production and innovation,' the GTRI said in a note prepared by Ajay Srivastava, a former Indian Trade Service officer, as quoted ANI. The PPP-MII policy, updated last in October 2024, mandates a minimum 50% local content threshold for firms to qualify as 'Class-I' local suppliers and gain preference in government procurement. GTRI noted that foreign telecom MNCs are lobbying DoT to dilute these norms as they are struggling to meet the existing criteria for Class-I suppliers. To be eligible, firms must demonstrate that at least 50% of a product's value is sourced or manufactured in India. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Cuối cùng, chơi miễn phí game chiến thuật hay nhất 2025! Sea of Conquest Phát ngay Undo The policy applies to 36 key telecom product categories including routers, ethernet switches, GPON devices, media gateways, CPE, telecom batteries, optical fibre and cables. The policy excludes imported parts routed through Indian resellers, royalties, overseas technical fees, and refurbished products from the local content tally. Although design and software work performed in India is allowed, the value is capped to prevent firms from inflating their LC percentage through back-end R&D while continuing to import most hardware. 'Global majors are finding it difficult to meet these thresholds,' the note said, adding, 'Most of the work performed in India is done on an outsourcing basis for their foreign parent companies. The parent companies retain ownership of intellectual property (IP) and earn the bulk of profits.' GTRI cautioned that easing the LC rules could discourage Indian firms that have made long-term investments in domestic R&D, IP, and manufacturing. 'Such Indian firms would face the prospect of losing market share to foreign MNCs whose products remain largely imported and foreign-owned,' the note said. The think tank also warned that lowering LC standards could promote superficial assembly or software wrapping of imported products just to claim Class-I supplier status, rather than genuine localisation. 'India's telecom sector would remain reliant on foreign technologies, with little strategic control,' the GTRI note added. Stay informed with the latest business news, updates on bank holidays and public holidays . AI Masterclass for Students. Upskill Young Ones Today!– Join Now
