ISLAMABAD, Nov 1: Minister for Information Technology Awais Ahmad Khan Leghari on Monday directed corporations and attached departments of his ministry to begin electronic procurement from January next year for more transparent and efficient process.

"The ministry and its attached departments must plan for electronic procurement and switch over fully to e-procurement in the first quarter of next year," he said in a directive sent to subsidiary organizations.

The organizations include PTCL, National Telecommunication Corporation, Pakistan Software Export Board, Pakistan Computer Bureau, PTML, Telecom Foundation, Paknet, Carrier Telephone Industry and Telephone Industry of Pakistan.

E-procurement will reduce the time of processing as bids will be received electronically while the process of shortlisting and pre-qualification will be done automatically in a matter of a few seconds, even though conventionally it takes several hours and even days to sift through paper bids.

E-procurement not only includes bid submission but also back-end processes of bids evaluation and award of contract. Information is fully transparent and competitive and public can see when products and services are being provided against the contract.

Directions have already been given by the ministry to the attached departments to start e-hiring for posts in BS-6 and above. The departments have been advised to make necessary arrangements, including development of customized software to suit environment in every organization.

In his directive, Awais Leghari said decision to approve electronic procurement had been taken to improve efficiency. He said all over the world, electronic procurement had proven to be effective.

He believed that introduction of electronic procurement in large organizations would speed up the IT enablement of vendors and contractors providing goods and services as they would have to comply with the new procurement rules.