Following a media report claiming that the state Directorate of Vocational Education and Training (DVET) procured digital teaching equipment from a Chinese company, the directorate has clarified that the company, BenQ, is based in Taiwan, not China.
The DVET also noted that government agencies of several states as well as the Union Ministry of Home Affairs have purchased products of this firm.In its clarification, submitted to the state Directorate General of Information and Public Relations (DGIPR) on Monday, DVET claimed to have followed all the government rules and regulations related to purchasing products and denied that it deliberately favoured the contracted company.
DVET posted bids on after closing the ‘Make In India’ preference
The directorate also explained that, contrary to the allegations of equipment being purchased at a higher price, the expenditure is within the limits prescribed by the state government. The news report had alleged that DVET, the state regulator of vocational education, had purchased several Chinese-made BenQ LCD interactive panels for classrooms in government-run Industrial Training Institutes (ITI) from a Nashik-based supplier.
It was also claimed that DVET posted the bids on Government e-Marketplace after switching off the ‘Make In India’ purchase preference.
The bids also required TÜV certification of the prospective bidders, which supposedly put Indian manufacturers at a disadvantage. However, DVET has pointed out that most aspects of the manufacturing of BenQ panels, including product design software development and panel development, take place in Taiwan, with only the assembly of parts being done in China.
It also noted that while none of the directors or shareholders of the company are Chinese, it has factories all across the globe including in India and China.The directorate also denied any favouritism.
"It was an open bid, where companies from India as well as abroad could participate. The certificate requirement was only for the manufacturers from abroad, not India,” said Digambar Dalvi, DVET director.
