I completed my Bachelors in Engineering in Electronics & Communication, with Distinction, from University of Madras (1984-1988).

Professionally, I have an overall experience of more than twenty five years in Public Procurement, IT project implementation including SAP/ERP and Power Plant Control and Instrumentation design. I have two years of international exposure having worked in Tanzania, East Africa and am presently working as International Procurement Advisor with the Capacity Building for Results Facility Project, Ministry of Finance, Islamic Republic of Afghanistan.

I belong to Indian Railway Stores Service, one of the professional procurement services of Government of India and have more than 18 years of procurement experience. I also hold an International Diploma in Purchase and Supply Chain from ITC/UNCTAD (with Distinction). Additionally, I’ve undergone one and a half years of procurement and general management training at Railway Staff College, Vadodara.

My wife, L. Radha is a home maker and the reason behind my commitment to professionalism and honesty in public procurement. I also have a daughter, Srivaishnavi who is completing her final year of Genetics Engineering, is presently in Taiwan undergoing her final year thesis project, while my son, Saravana Kumar is finishing his schooling this year.

In India, even though there are many academic programs that teach procurement in general, there is hardly any program which focuses on public procurement, in spite of the fact that almost 25% of the GDP is spent in public procurement. I have always looked forward to doing specific courses in public procurement. I was happy when World Bank, in association with other leading institutions, announced the launch of this course and grabbed the opportunity instantly. It is a very focused course on public procurement and helped me a lot to widen my knowledge on the subject.

Government spending, in terms of Public procurement of goods, works and services is meant for effective delivery of services and better implementation of policies, for the greater good of the society. Therefore, transparency becomes a core principle of high-quality public procurement.

Ideally, government procurement policy must obtain best ‘value for money’ by promoting effective competition and provide incentives for integrity in the procurement process. Generally, public procurement lacks transparency and accountability, which impede its effective and efficient functioning. In addition, there are gaps and lack of awareness that lead to under-utilisation and/or poor performance in the system. To overcome these issues, inducing professionalism in the area of public procurement is a must. As a public procurement professional for the past 18 years or so, I have always practiced and promoted professionalism in my area of work. I was the first one to publish the NITs (Notice Inviting Tenders) on the internet in Indian Railways, way back in 1997 when internet just came to being in India, by developing a website for stores department of Northeast Frontier Railway.

Thanks to World Bank for coming up with a course on Public Procurement. It is an opportunity never to be missed. I would urge all procurement professionals to take up this course.