Address: 1st Floor, V.S. Bhavan
Anushaktinagar, Mumbai 400 094
Telephone: 91-22-558-2868
Fax: 91-22-220-48476
Email: webmaster@dae.gov.in
Deputy Director (Central Purchasing Unit): I. Ramakrishnan
Subordinate to: Department of Atomic Energy
Primary Function: Provide material support to DAE organizations by means of purchases, receipt, issue, accounting, safe-custody, and disposal of stores

Description and Activities:
Due to its need for highly specialized material, the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) was officially exempted from making purchases through the Directorate General of Supplies and Disposals (DGS&D) in 1956. Growing DAE research and development activities and the need to import nuclear-related items through customs channels led to the founding of the Directorate of Purchases and Stores (DPS) in June 1972. The DAE-administered DPS comprises of a centralized purchasing unit located in Mumbai with regional offices in Chennai, Hyderabad, Kota, Kolkata, Delhi, and Indore. While the central purchase unit is responsible for all acquisitions in and around Mumbai, it is also responsible for procurements that exceed the purchasing powers of the regional offices. The Mumbai-based DPS headquarters is also the only entity within the organization that can import items. Working in congruence with the DPS is the Technical Liaison Mission, Paris that serves as a quality surveillance organization. In addition to inspecting items earmarked for DPS purchases, the Technical Liaison Mission, Paris also works to insure quality control, locates alternate materials for procurement, and assists in gathering technical information.

Within the past few years, DPS has been instrumental in the creation of new storage facilities for high value DAE items. The organization has undertaken numerous projects with the Bhabha Atomic Research Center (BARC), including an online Material Management System in 2000-2001. During this time period DPS also began exporting heavy water for the DAE to an entity in South Korea. In 2001-2002, DPS and BARC were working toward the computerization of purchase and store functions to totally replace all manual data at BARC's storage facilities.

Key Sources: "Chapter II: Department of Atomic Energy," The Comptroller and Auditor General of India, 1993, <http://www.cagindia.org/>; DAE (Government of India), "Annual Report 1998-1999," p. 64; DAE (Government of India) Annual Report 1999-2000, p. 5.1, Executive Summary available at <http://www.vigyan.org.in/annual/atomic.html>; DAE (Government of India), "Annual Report 2000-2001," Executive Summary available at <http://www.dae.gov.in/ar2001/execsum.htm>; DAE (Government of India), "Annual Report 2001-2002," Executive Summary available at <http://www.dae.gov.in/ar2002/ar2002.htm>; "Names of the Officer handling Public/ Staff Grievances in the Department of Atomic Energy & its Constituent Units," DAE (Government of India), <http://www.dae.gov.in/sectt/grivcont.htm>.

	Updated September 2003