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By:

Rajendra Joshi

3 December 2024 at 3:50:26 am

Procurement first, infrastructure later

Procurement at multiples of market price; equipment before infrastructure; no accountability Kolhapur: Maharashtra’s Medical Education and Public Health Departments have been on an aggressive drive to expand public healthcare infrastructure. Daily announcements of new centres, advanced equipment and expanded services have reassured citizens long denied dependable public healthcare. Procurement of medical equipment, medicines and surgical supplies is reportedly being undertaken at rates two to...

Procurement first, infrastructure later

Procurement at multiples of market price; equipment before infrastructure; no accountability Kolhapur: Maharashtra’s Medical Education and Public Health Departments have been on an aggressive drive to expand public healthcare infrastructure. Daily announcements of new centres, advanced equipment and expanded services have reassured citizens long denied dependable public healthcare. Procurement of medical equipment, medicines and surgical supplies is reportedly being undertaken at rates two to ten times higher than prevailing market prices. Basic economics dictates that bulk government procurement ought to secure better rates than private buyers, not worse. During the Covid-19 pandemic, equipment and consumables were procured at five to ten times the market rate, with government audit reports formally flagging these irregularities. Yet accountability has remained elusive. The pattern is illustrated vividly in Kolhapur. The Dean of Rajarshi Shahu Government Medical College announced that a PET scan machine worth Rs 35 crore would soon be installed at Chhatrapati Pramilaraje (CPR) Government Hospital for cancer diagnosis. But a comparable machine is available in the market for around Rs 6.5 crore. A senior cancer surgeon at a major cancer hospital in western Maharashtra, where a similar machine was recently installed, remarked that the gap between what his hospital paid and what the government is reportedly paying was enough to make one ‘feel dizzy’. The label of a ‘turnkey project’ does not adequately explain a price differential of this magnitude. High Costs CPR Hospital recently had a state-of-the-art IVF centre approved at a sanctioned cost of Rs 7.20 crore. Senior fertility specialists across Maharashtra note that even a modern IVF centre with advanced reproductive technology equipment typically costs between Rs 2.5 crore and Rs 3 crore. The state’s outlay is reportedly approaching Rs 15 crore. Equipment arrived in June 2025 and lay idle for months owing to indecision about the site. Similarly, digital X-ray machines approved for CPR Hospital and a government hospital in Nanded; available in the market for roughly Rs 1.5 crore; were reportedly procured at Rs 9.98 crore per unit. Doctors in CPR’s radiology department, apprehensive about being drawn into potential inquiries, reportedly resisted accepting the equipment. One departmental head was transferred amid disagreements over signing off on the proposal. What’s Wrong These cases point to a deeper structural failure: Maharashtra has perfected what might be called the ‘equipment first, infrastructure later’ model. In any public hospital, the administrative sequence ought to be: identify space, create infrastructure, sanction specialist posts, and only then procure equipment. Compounding the procurement paradox is a parallel policy decision. On 20 December 2025, the state government decided to introduce radiology diagnostic services through a Public-Private Partnership model (PPP). Following this, an order issued on 6 February 2026 authorised private operators to provide PET scan, MRI and CT scan services at six government medical college hospitals: in Pune, Kolhapur, Miraj, Sangli, Mumbai and Baramati. CPR already has a 126-slice CT scan machine and a 3 Tesla MRI scanner, with another CT scan proposed. If the PPP arrangement proceeds, the hospital could simultaneously run one PET scan machine, two MRI scanners and three CT scan machines. Medical experts warn this could lead to unnecessary diagnostic testing simply to keep machines occupied, thus exposing patients to excess radiation while government-owned equipment gathers dust. A similar pattern was seen during the pandemic, when the Medical Education Department spent hundreds of crores on RT-PCR machines, only to award swab-testing contracts to a private company. Many of those machines remain unused today.

'Singh preferred his Maruti 800 over BMW'

Updated: Jan 2, 2025

Manmohan Singh

Lucknow: Manmohan Singh preferred his modest Maruti Suzuki 800 over luxury BMWs even when holding the office of prime minister as it reaffirmed his connection with the middle class and commitment to work for the common man.


Singh's humility and grounded nature were highlighted in a heartfelt social media memoir by Uttar Pradesh Minister of State for Social Welfare (Independent Charge) Asim Arun, a former Indian Police Service (IPS) officer who worked as Singh's chief bodyguard for almost three years.


Arun, who served as Singh's close protection officer for nearly three years during his tenure in the Special Protection Group (SPG), shared his experiences and insights into Singh's personality, emphasising his simple lifestyle and connection with the common man.


Recalling his role as head of the SPG's Close Protection Team (CPT) for the prime minister, Arun said, "As the AIG CPT, my responsibility was to stay with the prime minister at all times, like his shadow. If only one bodyguard could stay with him, it had to be me."


One anecdote Arun shared reflected Singh's simplicity - his attachment to his personal car, a modest Maruti Suzuki 800.


Despite having a fleet of high-security vehicles, including a luxurious BMW, for official travel, Singh would often express his preference for the modest car.

Arun recalled Singh telling him, "Asim, I don't like travelling in this car (BMW). My car is the Maruti."


He said he would explain to Singh the security rwequirements of the high-tech BMW but the former prime minister's gaze would always turn to the Maruti Suzuki 800 as his motorcade passed by it.


"It was as if he was reaffirming his identity as a middle-class man and his commitment to caring for the common man. While the BMW might symbolise the grandeur of the prime minister's position, in his heart, he saw the Maruti as his car," Arun added.


While talking to PTI Videos, Arun recalled that Singh's car - a constant emotional connection to his modest roots - was maintained inside the compound of the PM's residence.


"Dr Singh couldn't drive his Maruti Suzuki 800 due to protocol and my responsibility included starting the car daily and running it briefly within the prime minister's residence."


Talking to PTI Videos, Arun also praised Singh's disciplined routine.


"Even in the nation's busiest office, Dr Singh reserved an hour daily for reading. Whether it was a book or a research paper, his dedication to learning was extraordinary. During flights, he often carried books, reading 100-150 pages in a single sitting. His thirst for knowledge, even at the peak of his political career, was unparalleled."

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