Streamlining of Procurement of Medical Equipment

मुख्यालय,
कर्मचारी राज्य बीमा निगम
श्रम एवं रोजगार मंत्रालय,
भारत सरकार
पंचदीपभवन ,सी.आई.जी. मार्ग:
नईदिल्ली -110002.

Headquarters,
Employees' State Insurance Corporation
Ministry of Labour & Employment,
Government of India.
Panchdeep Bhawan: C.I.G. Road:
New Delhi - 110 002

ई-मेल/email: pc-hqrs@esic.gov.in

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No: U-16/30/575/2014-Procell(ATR)-Pt-Part(1)

24-09-2026

To

All Deans - ESIC PGIMSRs, Medical & Dental Colleges and Hospitals
All Medical Superintendents - ESIC Hospitals
Director (Medical) Delhi/Director (Medical) Noida

Sub: Streamlining of Procurement of Medical Equipment - reg.

Respected Sir/Madam,

It has been observed that procurement of medical equipment at various ESIC Hospitals/Medical Colleges is, in certain cases, delayed at different stages due to inadequate assessment of requirements, site/infrastructure-related issues, restrictive specifications/eligibility conditions, repeated failure of tenders and lack of timely decision-making at the institutional level.

The matter has been reviewed with various ESIC Hospitals/Medical Colleges through VC meetings to assess the status of pending procurement cases. During the review, issues relating to pendency, reasons for delay and measures required for timely completion of the procurement process were discussed with the concerned institutions.

In order to ensure that procurement of medical equipment is need-based, properly planned, transparent, competitive and completed within a defined timeline, the following instructions are hereby reiterated for strict compliance by all ESIC Hospitals/Medical Colleges:

1. Whenever a demand for medical equipment is generated, a proper assessment of the requirement should be undertaken before initiating procurement. The assessment should consider:
   • Whether the equipment is actually required as per ESIC Norm/NMC Norm (wherever applicable);
   • Whether adequate infrastructure required for installation and operation of the equipment is available;
   • Whether the required manpower and technical expertise are available; and
   • Whether the equipment can be optimally utilised after procurement.
2. The hospitals should ensure that all necessary infrastructure, including the required space, electrical, civil, plumbing, HVAC and other site-specific requirements, wherever applicable, are available or suitably planned before procurement of the equipment so that the equipment should not remain idle.
3. The provisions of the Manual for Procurement of Goods 2024, Second Edition regarding Demonstration of medical equipment at technical stage may be perused and followed as applicable. As per Para 2.2.1 (9) of the Manual for Procurement of Goods, 2024, calling for a sample along with the tender or requiring demonstration of equipment after opening of bids and deciding the evaluation of the tenders based on evaluation of such sample/demonstration should not be done. If demonstration of equipment (for example, an entirely newly developed equipment) is considered necessary, the same may be planned only at the pre-bid stage; however, the evaluation of tenders should not be based on such demonstration.
4. The specifications and eligibility conditions in the bid documents should not be restrictive. The tender specifications should be framed in a manner that ensures fair competition and wider participation, while duly meeting the functional and technical requirements of the hospital.
5. In cases where an earlier bid has failed, a suitable committee should be constituted to examine and evaluate the reasons for failure of the bid. The committee should assess the factors responsible for non-finalization and suggest appropriate corrective measures before re-tendering.
6. In case the tender fails, market consultation should also be carried out by the Head of Institution before re-tendering.
7. Hospitals should ensure conducting a pre-bid meeting during any tendering process, to clarify the requirements, specifications and other issues of participating bidders.
8. The hospitals should prepare an annual calendar for procurement of medical equipment in advance, clearly indicating the expected time required at each stage of the procurement cycle, including demand assessment, preparation of specifications, tendering, technical evaluation, financial evaluation, approval and placement of Purchase Order.
9. The procurement cycle should be properly planned and well defined, with clear timelines for each stage, so as to identify bottlenecks and minimize avoidable delays and reduce the overall time taken for procurement.
10. In respect of equipment which is optional as per medical equipment norms, such proposals should be considered only after proper justification, clearly bringing out the requirement, intended utilization and justification for procurement, for obtaining approval.
11. The hospitals should closely monitor procurement cases at each stage and ensure timely action by the concerned officers/officials. Any issue causing delay should be identified at the earliest and appropriate remedial action should be taken.
12. It is reiterated that procurement of medical equipment should be need-based, properly planned and undertaken within a defined timeline, with the ultimate objective of ensuring that the procured equipment is commissioned and put to optimal use without avoidable delay.
13. Timely initiation and completion of AMC/CMC arrangements for medical equipment should be ensured. Once the equipment goes out of CMC coverage, the vendor may have greater leverage in quoting terms and conditions for subsequent maintenance services, which may also adversely affect continuity of services. Therefore, timely action should be taken for AMC/CMC so as to ensure uninterrupted maintenance support and continuity of services.
14. It has also been noticed that, in certain cases, abnormally low bids are being accepted by Institutes without adequate justification. In respect of equipment where the cost of consumables constitutes a significant component of the overall expenditure, procurement should be undertaken after due consideration of the life cycle cost, including the cost of CMC and consumables, etc., so as to ensure the best overall price.
15. Institution Heads should ensure that proposals forwarded to Headquarters are complete in all respects and supported with the requisite details and documents. The proposals should be duly examined at the institutional level with reference to relevant parameters, including availability of manpower and infrastructure, patient load, cost-benefit considerations and other applicable requirements, before being forwarded to Headquarters. Forwarding of incomplete proposals without such assessment leads to repeated correspondence and avoidable delays in decision-making and procurement.
16. It has been observed that Institutes are sending requests to Headquarters for decision-making even in matters which are well within the applicable norms and DOPs. Requests for issuing instructions outside GFR/CVC/MoE guidelines and for taking decisions on tenders floated by the Institutes are also being received frequently.
17. There are already instructions issued by the Ministry of Finance/Department of Expenditure, CVC and other Central Government Departments, which all Institutes are required to follow.

Institutes shall take decisions at their own level in all matters falling within their delegated powers and covered under the existing rules, guidelines and instructions.

This issues with the approval of the Competent Authority.

Yours sincerely,

Digitally signed by
Sanjiv Kochhar
Date: 25-09-2026
12:58:54

Dy. Medical Commissioner (RC & PC)

Copy to:

1. All Zonal Medical Commissioners.
2. PPS to DG/CVO/FC and PPS to MC(MA)/MC(ME)/MC(MS)/MC(PC).
3. WCM, Hqrs with request for uploading on ESIC website