Coding and blinding in technical sample evaluation: a procurement-based approach to transparency and cost efficiency in the Indian health sector-a first-of-its-kind initiative
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18203/2320-6012.ijrms20252409Keywords:
Bias reduction, Coding and blinding technique, Central vigilance commission, Government e-Marketplace], General financial rules, Health sector, Public procurement, Technical sample evaluation, TransparencyAbstract
Background: Public procurement plays a critical role in service delivery while remaining susceptible to evaluator bias, particularly during the technical evaluation of goods even within the structured regulatory systems like India’s General Financial Rules 2017 and Central Vigilance Commission guidelines. Our study assesses whether introducing coding and blinding techniques in sample evaluation lowers evaluation bias, improves transparency, fairness and cost-efficiency in public procurement.
Methods: A pre and post interventional study design (non-randomized) was conducted retrieving procurement data of two financial years, 2021-22 (pre-intervention) and 2023-24 (post-intervention) from the institutional digital procurement library and store records. The intervention consisted of assigning alphanumeric codes to items and its vendor samples with all brand markings concealed on submitted samples of goods for technical evaluation. These coded and blinded samples were evaluated by the Technical Specification Evaluation Committee (TSEC). STATA 15.0 was used to examine data. Descriptive statistics were applied and Mann-Whitney test was used to draw comparisons.
Results: Fifty-six procurement events were analysed under different categories-Crystalloid (16%), General (30%), Linen (14%), Stationary (5%) and Surgical (35%). Post-intervention the number of technically shortlisted bidders increased significantly (p<0.001) whereas procurement prices decreased across all categories with significant cost reductions in Crystalloid and General categories (p<0.001).
Conclusions: Using coding and blinding methods in technical sample evaluation significantly improved transparency, reduced bias leading to competitive pricing. The intervention offers a scalable approach for improving transparency and responsibility in public sector procurement systems and fits well with GFR 2017 and CVC regulations.
Metrics
References
Dekel O, Schurr A. Cognitive Biases in Government Procurement An experimental study. SSRN Electr J. 2014;1;14(2):169–200.
Pysmenna M, Drozd N. Transparency of procurement management via the project management tools. Economic Analy. 2024;1;34(1):136–43.
India GO. General Financial Rules 2017. General Financial Rules. 2017. Available at: https://doe.gov.in/files. Accessed on 21 January 2025.
Government of India, Ministry of finance, Department of Expenditure, Lavasa A, Joshi V, Aggarwal S, et al. Manual for Procurement of Goods. 2017. Available at: https://doe.gov.in/files/ manuals_documents. Accessed on 21 February 2025.
Government e-Marketplace. GEM. Available at: https://assets-bg.gem.gov.in/resources/pdf/GeM_ handbook.pdf. Accessed on 4 May 2025.
Government e-Marketplace. GeM. Available at: https://gem.gov.in/statistics. Accessed on 1 May 2025.
Modi N, Agarwal N, Agarwal A, Sharma VK, Meena MK, Manwatkar N, et al. GeM - Government e Marketplace, Procurement Reimagined. Webinar on GeM Portal to Discuss New Business Opportunities for MSME’s. 2020. Available at: https://wtcjaipur.org/admin/uploads/event/eventpdf/b516ad10b9d8b565fc1609821d7cdeda.pdf. Accessed on 4 May 2025.
Transparency, accountability and integrity of public procurement systems. 2024. Available at: https://knowledgehub.transparency.org/assets/uploads/helpdesk/Transparency-accountability-and-integrity-of-public-procurement-systems_2024-English-Version.pdf. Accessed on 1 May 2025.
Monaghan TF, Agudelo CW, Rahman SN, Wein AJ, Lazar JM, Everaert K, et al. Blinding in Clinical trials: Seeing the big picture. Medicina. 2021;57(7):647.
Mutangili SK. The impact of public procurement law on supply chain performance. J Procur Supply Chain. 2024;2;8(1):213.
Open Knowledge Repository. Openknowledge. Available at: https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/ handle/10986/39632. Accessed on 4 May 2025.
Sharma N, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Ministry of HRD - Government of India, Department of Health - Government of Rajasthan, Department of Primary Education - Government of Rajasthan, Khera KL, et al. Competition and public procurement: the case of health and primary education sectors. Indian Council for Social Sciences Research. 2012. Available at: https://procurementobservatoryraj.in/ pdf/Report_on_Competition_and_Public_Procurement_2012.pdf. Accessed on 4 May 2025.
Ohashi H. Effects of transparency in procurement practices on government expenditure: a case study of municipal public works. Rev Industrial Organization. 2009;34(3):267–85.
Kubak M, Nemec P, Stefko R, Volosin M. On competition and transparency in public procurement during the COVID-19 pandemic in the European Union. E&M Ekonomie a Management. 2023;26(2):4–23.
Fisher A. Treatment Effect Bias from Sample Snooping: Blinding Outcomes is Neither Necessary nor Sufficient. arXiv (Cornell University). 2020;14(4):1–23.
Andreyanov P, Krasikov I, Suzdaltsev A. Scoring and favoritism in optimal procurement design. arXiv (Cornell University). 2024;14(1):1–23.
Almac Clinical Services. Blinding of investigational products. Part 1 of the Clinical Supply Knowledge Share Series: Understanding and Delivering your Global Clinical Supply Chain. Available at: https://www.almacgroup.com/knowledge/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/02/CS_Blinding-of-Investigational-Medicinal-Products-IMPs_eBook-1.pdf. Accessed on 4 May 2025.
Yu R, Coleman DA. Blinding properties of methods for supplying drug kits to investigational sites. Contemporary Clinical Trials Communications. 2015;1:22-7.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
