BharatNotes Procurement
nounUsage in a UPSC answer
A transparent, rules-based public procurement system — anchored in the General Financial Rules and the Government e-Marketplace — is indispensable for curbing rent-seeking, ensuring value for money, and upholding the constitutional promise of equality of opportunity for bidders.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Word Family
procure (v), procurer (n), procured (adj), procurable (adj), procuring (v pres.p)
Root
Late Latin procurare = to manage/take care of; pro- = on behalf of; curare = to take care
Etymology
From Late Latin procurare (to manage, take care of), from pro- (on behalf of) + curare (to take care); the modern sense of "obtaining goods" developed by the late 14th century; in Indian agriculture, government procurement has been a cornerstone of food security policy since the Green Revolution era.
Memory Hook
PRO + CURE: a department that 'pro-actively takes care of' (Latin curare = to care for) acquiring what an organisation needs — the buyers who 'pro-cure' the supplies.
How This Word Works in UPSC Writing
Government purchase of produce at the Minimum Support Price. The chain is worth stating in order: the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices recommends MSP for 22 mandated crops, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approves it, and the Food Corporation of India as nodal agency procures alongside state agencies, with Decentralised Procurement states buying, storing and distributing for the central pool themselves. The structural critique follows directly. Procurement is open-ended and effective mainly for paddy and wheat and is concentrated in a few states, so the MSP is a real floor where procurement is strong and largely notional elsewhere. That asymmetry entrenches the rice-wheat cycle and the groundwater depletion accompanying it in the north-west.
Don’t Confuse It With
Procurement is the actual purchase. MSP is the announced floor price, which bites only where procurement is real, which is why the two must not be treated as the same guarantee. A buffer stock is what procurement accumulates, against buffer norms that set how much should be held. Open-ended procurement is the commitment to buy all that is offered, applied to paddy and wheat. A price deficiency payment is the alternative that pays the farmer the gap in cash instead of buying the crop. Note the separate public administration sense of procurement, meaning government purchase of goods and services, which is the sense used in the sentence above.
Hindi Meaning
खरीद (kharīd) or अधिप्राप्ति; सरकारी खरीद for government procurement.
Common Questions
- Who fixes the MSP and who actually procures?
- The Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices recommends it and the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approves it, while the Food Corporation of India and state agencies carry out the procurement.
- Why is MSP called ineffective for most crops?
- Because MSP is announced for 22 crops but sustained procurement happens mainly for paddy and wheat and in a few states, so elsewhere the announced price has no buyer standing behind it.
Seen in UPSC Question Papers
- Mains 2024 · GS4 · 20 marks — Ethics in Public Administration
Real UPSC previous-year questions whose text uses “Procurement” — proof this word earns its place on your list.
Tip: press Alt+S to hear pronunciation
