New Delhi: Public procurement of goods and services from government-owned GeM portal has touched nearly Rs 10 lakh crore in the last eight years.
The Government e-Market (GeM) portal was launched on August 9, 2016, for online purchases of goods and services by all central government ministries and departments.
Complementing on the completion of eight years, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the portal has provided opportunities to entrepreneurs, particularly those associated with MSMEs, Startups and those belonging to SC, ST and OBC communities.
GeM has also gone a long way in furthering women's empowerment, he said.
"This platform has achieved an impressive cumulative sale of nearly Rs 10 lakh crore," Modi said on social media platform X.
GeM began its journey in 2016-17 with a procurement of Rs 422 crore. It crossed Rs 4 lakh crore in the last fiscal.
Meanwhile in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Jitin Prasada said that more than 1.63 lakh women-led MSEs (micro and small enterprises) and 25,000 startups have been registered on the GeM portal since inception.
Since its launch in 2016, GeM has facilitated the procurement of common-use goods and services by various central, state, ministries, departments, Public Sector Enterprises (PSU), Autonomous Bodies, Panchayats, and Cooperative Societies.
GeM CEO PK Singh said that more than 1.5 lakh government buyers are interacting and procuring goods and services from about 23 lakh sellers and service providers pan India, in 11,523 product and 327 service categories, without intermediaries.
"The procurement has already reached Rs 1,92,433 crore as of August 8, which is about 136 per cent growth over same period in the last fiscal year, and is well poised to set new records in 2024-25," Singh said.
The procurement of services on GeM has accelerated with Rs 3.91 lakh crore buying since its inception. In 2024-25, service procurement has so far touched Rs 80,493 crore.
"Most importantly, the portal has championed the social inclusion of women, tribal and SC/ ST MSMEs, startups, artisans and weavers, craftsmen, self-help groups, farmer producer organizations (FPO), and Cooperative Societies through its vocal for local GeM outlet stores, and market interventions," Singh said.
He added that Artificial Intelligence (AI) is ensuring improved product comparison and price discovery for government buyers.
Buyers are able to scan QR codes on the GeM Website and scale, zoom, pan, place and view 3D models of over 300 products through their mobile devices.
"Government buyers are able to avail market intelligence, product similarity, price gap analysis, anomaly detection, among other features for the real-time identification of any abnormal activity and for improved visibility to stop potential collusion among buyers and sellers," Singh said.
GeM is also the first public procurement agency to use a generative AI-based Chat box to enhance users' experience.
Further, the portal now offers an interactive multi-lingual eLearning Management System (LMS) in 12 regional languages including English and Hindi for Government buyers, sellers and service providers to train and gain proficiency in navigating the portal on various topics.
"GeM has taken a significant step towards empowering rural India by fully integrating with the eGram Swaraj portal. This integration streamlines the procurement process for Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) as buyers of GeM," he added.
Currently, government departments, ministries, public sector units, state governments, and central armed police forces are allowed to carry out transactions through this portal.
The portal provides a wide range of products from office stationery to vehicles.
Automobiles, computers and office furniture are some of the major product categories.
Services, including transportation, logistics, waste management, webcasting and analytical, are listed on the portal.
South Korea's KONEPS is the largest such platform in the world. Currently, GeM stands at the second position.
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