New Delhi, Sept. 5 -- The Union government's public procurement from women-led micro and small enterprises edged closer to the mandated 3% target in the first five months of FY26, after missing it over the past five fiscal years.

The share of goods and services purchased by various ministries and government departments from women-led micro and small businesses rose to 2.82% at the beginning of September, according to data from the government's Sambandh portal. The purchases totalled Rs.1,961 crore.

According to procurement rules, the government must purchase 25% of its total goods and services from MSEs - 4% from Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe-led MSEs and 3% from women-led MSEs. The procurement policy, last revised in 2018, applie...