Tenders in India

Public procurement in India

Key facts for bidders, checked against official sources (2026-10). General information, not legal advice. Always confirm the rules in the tender documents and on the official portal.

Main procurement law

General Financial Rules (GFR) 2017 – no single procurement statute; central procurement is governed by the GFR and the Ministry of Finance procurement manuals (2017)

Regulator

Procurement Policy Division, Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance

Official portal

Central Public Procurement Portal (CPPP), integrated with Government e-Marketplace (GeM)

WTO procurement agreement

India is not a party to the WTO Agreement on Government Procurement.

Foreign bidders

Under GFR Rule 144(xi) (2020), bidders from countries that share a land border with India can bid only after registering with a DPIIT-constituted committee, with political and security clearance. The Public Procurement (Preference to Make in India) Order 2017 gives a purchase preference to 'Class-I local suppliers' (at least 50% local content), and some items are reserved for them.

Notice languages

English, Hindi

Currency

INR

Good to know

The GFR and CPPP cover central ministries and agencies; states have their own procurement rules and e-procurement portals.

Trade snapshot

GDP (2025)

US$3.96 trillion

Exports (2025)

US$880.7 billion in goods and services

Imports (2025)

US$949.7 billion in goods and services

Trade share (2025)

46% of GDP

Average tariff (2022)

4.6% (applied, trade-weighted, all products)

Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0).

India on FreeTender right now

6,400 open notices; the busiest sectors are construction & infrastructure (3,243), energy & power (698), healthcare & pharma (276), manufacturing & supply (254) and transport & logistics (205).

Most active buyers: State Bank of India (179), Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) (141), Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (107), NMDC Limited (90), NTPC Limited · Corporate Centre · USSC · CPG-3 (54).

Sources: pib.gov.in · eprocure.gov.in · dpiit.gov.in · doe.gov.in

About tenders in India

Public bodies and private organisations in India publish tenders to procure goods, works and services. On FreeTender you can browse open opportunities by sector, read the full notice and key dates, and go to the official source to verify and apply. Set up a free alert to be notified as soon as new India tenders that match your keywords are published.

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