<p>Sustainable public procurement (SPP) is increasingly recognized as a policy instrument for advancing sustainable consumption and production, yet evidence from federal developing countries remains limited. This paper examines how environmental, socio-economic, and governance objectives are integrated into public procurement across national and sub-national levels in India, one of the world’s largest federal procurement systems. Using a multi-level governance framework, the study analyses procurement policies and institutional documents from 37 policy units, including the Union Government, 28 states, and 8 union territories. The findings reveal a clear asymmetry in SPP implementation. Governance and socio-economic objectives, particularly digital procurement and preferential procurement for micro, small, and medium enterprises, are widely institutionalized across levels of government. In contrast, environmental criteria remain fragmented, largely voluntary, and weakly embedded in procurement practice. India’s case is distinctive in demonstrating how strong governance infrastructure and inclusive procurement mandates can coexist with limited environmental integration in a federal developing-country context. The study contributes to SPP literature by showing how multi-level governance shapes procurement outcomes and constrains environmental mainstreaming. It also highlights the unrealized potential of public procurement as a demand-side instrument for sustainability, drawing on industrial ecology concepts such as life-cycle thinking and systemic feedback loops. The findings offer policy-relevant insights for other federal developing countries seeking to strengthen environmental integration in procurement while leveraging existing governance and socio-economic strengths.</p>