Union Finance Ministry launches ‘Vivad se vishwas scheme 2.0’

The Department of Expenditure , Union Ministry of Finance has launched the ‘Vivad se Vishwas 2.0" scheme  on 2 August 2023 for resolution of contractual disputes  involving the government and government undertakings . The move of the government is to promote the ease of doing business  and will cover disputes upto 30 September 2022.

The Union Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman had announced the Vivad se Vishwas scheme in her 2023-24 budget speech . In May 2023 the Department had launched 'Vishwas se Vivad 1.0-Relief for MSME' for providing relief to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) for COVID-19 period. In continuation of the scheme the Department has launched the “Vivad se Vishwas 2.0" focusing on resolving contractual disputes.

To ensure the scheme’s implementation, the Department of Expenditure has issued detailed guidelines for “Vivad se Vishwas-2 (Contractual Disputes)" on 29 May 2023. The deadline for submitting claims under the scheme is 31 October 2023.

Features of the Vivad Se Vishwas 2.0 scheme 

• The scheme will apply to all domestic contractual disputes where one of the parties is either the Government of India or an organisation working under its control.
• Under the scheme, for Court Awards passed on or before 30 April 2023 the settlement amount offered to the Contractor will be up to 85% of the net amount awarded/ upheld by the court.
• For Arbitral Awards passed on or before 31 January 2023, the settlement amount offered is up to 65% of the net amount awarded.
• The government e-marketplace (GeM) has created a dedicated web-page for the implementation of the “Vivad se Vishwas-2 (Contractual Disputes)" scheme. 
• Eligible claims will be processed exclusively through the GeM platform.

Government e-Marketplace (GeM) Platform 

• The Government of India has set up Government e- Marketplace(GeM) as a 100% Government owned company registered under the Companies Act, 2013 for providing online platform for procurement of common use goods and services by government organisations.
• The initiative was launched on August 9, 2016 by the Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry with the objective of creating an inclusive, efficient, and transparent platform for the buyers and sellers to carry out procurement activities in a fair and competitive manner. 
• All the State Governments are utilising the services offered by Government e-Marketplace
• GeM has over 66,000 government buyer organisations and more than 58 lakh sellers and service providers offering a diverse range of goods and services.