Government e-Marketplace (GeM)

CONTEXT:

The Commerce Secretary B.V.R. Subrahmanyam released a statement saying that 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 ₹20 lakh crore a year.

FOR PRELIMS:

• The system maintained savings of ₹10,000 crore in the cumulative procurements of ₹1 lakh crore facilitated through the portal in five years.
• Improved the speed of procurement.
• 56% of the order value processed through the portal has been delivered by micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

About GeM:

• Developed by Directorate General of Supplies and Disposals (DGS&D).
• Aims to ensure that public procurement of goods and services in India worth more than Rs. 5 lakh crore annually is carried out through the online platform.
• It promotes transparency and eliminates corruption.
• The main impacts produced are:

• Relieves public offices from tedious and time consuming tendering process.
• Cuts down on administrative and transaction costs.
• Helps in online registration of suppliers and government buyers using self certification and authentication through Aadhar, PAN, MCA21 and Biometric Attendance System.
• Also facilitates seamless process flow and standardised specifications with complete audit trail.
• It promotes the spirit of cooperative federalism.

Sources

• The Hindu
• The Indian Express
• PIB
• GeM website