GAIL introduces transparency in tenders

NEW DELHI, Jan. 10 (UPI) -- State-run Gas Authority of India Ltd. says it will change tender documents to ensure transparency in the bidding process.

The company said it would include an integrity pact, a tool Transparency International had designed to prevent corruption in public procurement.

The gas-marketing major said the decision would affect projects worth $3.7 billion that it has lined up for bidding.

"The company has embarked upon a course to implement the integrity pact in all its major procurement as a corporate governance initiative under an agreement, which the company has signed with Transparency International India," a GAIL statement said Thursday.

"The integrity pact, an important tool for corporate governance, will also guard the guardians," GAIL Chairman U.D. Choubey said.

According to the statement, A.K. Kundra, former secretary, government of India, former Petroleum Secretary S.C. Tripathi and former Chairman of Bharat Petroleum Corp. Ltd. U. Sundarajan have been nominated as independent external monitors.

India's private oil and gas companies have complained that state-run companies have not ensured transparency in their tender documents.