Part of: GS Prelims and GS-III – Policies and Interventions
In news The Government e-Marketplace (GeM) system has resulted in a 10% savings in public procurement costs in five years, but has still tapped only 5% of India’s total government purchases of about Rs 20 lakh crore a year.
56% of the order value processed through the GeM portal has been delivered by Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), with seven lakh small firms on board.
About Government e-Marketplace (GeM)
GeM is a one-stop National Public Procurement Portal to facilitate online procurement of common use Goods & Services required by various Central and State Government Departments/Organizations/Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs).
The procurement of goods and services by Ministries and the Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) is mandatory for goods and services available on GeM.
It also provides the tools of e-bidding and reverse e-auction to facilitate the government users achieve the best value for their money.
At present, GeM has more than 30 lakh products, over Rs. 10 lakh crore worth of transactions have happened so far at the portal.
It was launched in 2016 to bring transparency and efficiency in the government buying process.
Nodal Ministry: Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
