AGARTALA, 5 Apr: Tripura has been given the best state award in the northeastern region by the Centre for successful implementation of e-procurement, Finance Minister Pranajit Singha Roy said here on Wednesday.
To maintain transparency, the state has made it mandatory to go for e-procurement if the value of any government purchase or contract goes beyond Rs. 25,000, he said.
“Impressed by the success in the e-procurement system, the Finance Ministry in association with the Ministry of Electronics and IT gave the best award among the northeastern states at a programme in Delhi,” Singha Roy said at a press conference.
The total value of payments made through e-procurement and Government eMarketplace (GeM) portals increased from Rs. 4,451 crore in 2020-21 to Rs. 7441 crore in 2021-22, he said adding that the figure is Rs. 7,373 crore till December in 2022-23 fiscal.
Singha Roy said digital payment is being promoted in the government sector to maintain transparency.
“As of now, 80 per cent of payments are made through digital platforms (in Tripura). The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has praised the state for embracing digital payment”, he said.
Except the pension to 82,000 pensioners, all the employees including Anganwadi workers are receiving salary through digital payment, he said.
Asserting that the northeastern state has been making all-out efforts to increase its revenue, Singha Roy said Tripura’s own tax collection has crossed Rs. 3,000 crore during 2022-23 which is 15 per cent more than that of the last financial year.
“We will identify the loopholes in the taxation system and do the needful so that the tendency to evade taxes could be checked,” he said.(PTI)