India restricts Chinese companies from public procurement projects

The move, so far, does not impact the private sector but includes all government and autonomous bodies, public sector banks and financial institutions, PPP projects and CPSEs

Moneycontrol News

July 24, 2020 / 13:47 IST

Trade (Image: Reuters)

India has reportedly restricted countries which it shares land borders with, from bidding for public procurements projects without prior approval from competent authorities – blocking Chinese companies from the fray.

The Centre has amended the General Financial Rules 2017 to enable the restrictions on grounds of national security, as per a statement from the Department of Expenditure.

Further, the order exempts countries which India provides development assistance or line of credit, thus effectively tying up only China and Pakistan. The relaxation for COVID-19-related medical supplies has been implemented till December 31, it added.

The move, so far, does not impact the private sector but includes all government and autonomous bodies, public sector banks and financial institutions, public-private-partnership (PPP) projects and central public sector enterprises (CPSEs).

As per the order, India will allow participation in procurement bids for goods, services or works from the countries in question only if the bidder is registered with a registration committee which will be instituted by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT); besides political and security clearance from the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ministry of External Affairs.

COVID-19 Vaccine

Frequently Asked Questions

How does a vaccine work?

A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine.

How many types of vaccines are there?

There are broadly four types of vaccine — one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine.

What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind?

Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time.

Show