Class 12 student Sarthak Sidhant, who recently drew national attention for analysing the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) digital evaluation tender process, has launched a public portal containing approximately 1.66 crore procurement records sourced from the Government of India’s Central Public Procurement (CPP) Portal. The initiative is intended to improve public access to government procurement data and encourage independent scrutiny of public spending.
Announcing the project on social media, Sidhant said the database had been compiled over the past two weeks by collecting publicly available procurement records from the CPP Portal. According to him, the platform has been designed to enable citizens, journalists, researchers and policy analysts to search, analyse and independently examine government contract information more efficiently. He described the launch as the beginning of a broader transparency initiative aimed at making public data more accessible.
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The newly launched portal significantly expands Sidhant’s earlier work, which focused on examining CBSE’s digital evaluation system and procurement process. The latest initiative shifts the focus beyond education by creating a searchable database of procurement records from various government departments. Sidhant said greater accessibility to public procurement information would encourage independent analysis and strengthen accountability in public administration.
Sidhant first came into the national spotlight after obtaining scanned copies of his own Class 12 answer sheets and raising questions regarding the digital evaluation process. As concerns regarding transparency in on-screen marking gained wider attention, he examined publicly available CBSE tender documents related to the On-Screen Marking (OSM) system.
According to his analysis, different versions of the tender documents contained changes in eligibility requirements, performance conditions and certification criteria during the bidding process. He argued that these modifications raised important questions regarding transparency in public procurement procedures and warranted closer public examination.
His findings subsequently attracted the attention of policymakers, and he later appeared before the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education to present his observations regarding the CBSE evaluation system and procurement process. The committee reviewed the issues raised during his analysis as part of its broader examination of educational governance and transparency.
With the launch of the procurement portal, Sidhant said he hopes more individuals will independently study publicly available government records, identify patterns in public expenditure and contribute to evidence-based discussions on transparency and accountability. He has also encouraged users to download the available datasets and conduct their own analyses using the information.
The initiative has generated discussion among education and technology observers about the growing role of young researchers in analysing publicly available government data. Supporters say such citizen-led initiatives can improve transparency by making complex public records easier to access and understand, while also encouraging greater public participation in oversight. The portal currently focuses on procurement information available through the government’s CPP system, and Sidhant has indicated that additional transparency-related projects may be developed in the future as part of his ongoing work.
