Patna: The AIIMS Patna organised a special lecture on Friday on “Cartelisation in Procurement of Medical Devices & Competition Law”, aimed at sensitising employees about fair competition practices and transparency in public procurement.
The session was delivered by Jaideep Singh, Deputy Director (Law) at the Competition Commission of India (CCI). Addressing staff members, he explained the fundamentals of competition law and outlined common challenges in public procurement, using simple and practical examples to make the subject accessible.
Singh noted that public procurement accounts for nearly 20–30% of India’s GDP, underlining the need for robust and transparent processes. He spoke about bid rigging and cartelisation, describing how such practices distort competition, inflate prices and ultimately harm public institutions and the wider economy. He also pointed out several “red flags” that officials should watch for during tendering and bidding procedures.
Using case-based illustrations, Singh demonstrated how bid rigging can occur and discussed tools available to detect and prevent anti-competitive conduct. He informed participants about the toolkit provided on the CCI website, designed to help organisations identify suspicious patterns in procurement processes. The session was interactive, with employees raising questions that were addressed during the discussion.
The programme began with a traditional lamp-lighting ceremony led by Executive Director Prof. (Brig.) Dr Raju Agarwal, alongside the guest speaker. The event concluded with a vote of thanks from Deputy Director (Admin.) Shri Nilotpal Bal, who expressed appreciation for the speaker’s insights and the active participation of staff.
Organisers said the lecture reaffirmed the institute’s commitment to transparency, fairness and compliance with competition law in all procurement practices.
