Mainstreaming sustainable public procurement in the Indian railway sector

The Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP) Facility, launched in 2017 as part of the EU-SWITCH Asia II Initiative, aims to support the development or refinement of the policy framework to promote SCP in the Asian region. It intends to help promote sustainable growth in Asia, achieve economic prosperity while reducing poverty, and support the development of a sustainable economy that counteracts the effects of climate change.

As part of the provision of technical assistance, a project was launched in early 2020 to formulate an action plan on Sustainable Public Procurement (SPP) and sustainable water and waste management policies for the Indian railway system.

In this project, adelphi, in cooperation with the SPP expert Dr. Prasad Modak, supported the Indian Ministry of Railways in formulating and implementing the action plan with regard to SPP, sustainable water and waste management policies. The action plan was then translated into measures in terms of training materials and capacity building in Indian Railways. In addition, an implementation plan was developed that explains all ministerial activities and responsibilities necessary to implement SPP.