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Modi to 'Amazonise' US$400b in procurement

New system allows vendors to bid for any government purchase and is designed to leave a digital trail

Published Thu, Dec 1, 2016 · 09:50 PM

    New Delhi

    INDIA'S Prime Minister Narendra Modi plans to move all government purchases, from paper clips to power plant turbines, to an Amazon-like online marketplace that could eventually be worth a fifth of the country's US$2 trillion economy.

    Mr Modi's government, which on Nov 8 announced a sudden decision to replace 86 per cent of India's cash in a bid to cut corruption and move to a cashless economy, has much riding on the new online market, which has already traded 390 million rupees (S$8.15 million) since it began in August. "This provides India an opportunity for transformation," said Rita Teaotia, the top bureaucrat in India's commerce ministry.

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