India opens central government procurement for British companies under FTA

08 May 2025 Evaluate

After the UAE, India has opened its central government procurement for British companies under the free trade agreement (FTA) announced on May 06, 2025. The British firms would be allowed to participate in the procurement of goods and services of the non-sensitive central-level entities only. However, access to state and local government-level entities will be excluded. Eligible UK suppliers would be allowed to bid for domestic tenders as deemed Class II local suppliers only. Carve out is also provided for 'Make in India' policy as well as medium and small enterprises.

Earlier, India opened the government procurement segment in the comprehensive trade pact with the UAE. Under that pact, UAE firms are allowed to participate in procurement tenders worth over Rs 200 crore. In 2020, the government modified public procurement norms to give maximum preference to companies whose goods and services have 50 per cent or more local content to promote 'Make in India'. The revised Public Procurement (Preference to Make in India), Order 2017, has introduced a concept of Class-I, II and non-local suppliers, based on which they will get preference in government purchases of goods and services.

Class-I local suppliers will get the most preference in all government purchases because their domestic value addition is 50 per cent or more. They will be followed by Class-II suppliers, whose value addition range is more than 20 per cent but less than 50 per cent. India's government procurement (GP) market is one of the largest in the world and it is estimated at nearly $600 billion annually, or around 15 per cent of the country's GDP. This expenditure fuels development across infrastructure, healthcare, power, education, transport, and defence. However, GP is more than a budgeting tool as it is a critical industrial policy instrument, used to promote local manufacturing, build MSME capacity, and advance national programs like Make in India and Atmanirbhar Bharat.


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