GeM |Government e-Marketplace

Government e-Marketplace or GeM is an open platform and a one-stop shop where regular user goods and services can be purchased. It is a system driven e-marketplace. The GeM portal is a dynamic and user-friendly portal. It can be used for making procurement by various ministries and agencies of the Government.

Government e-Marketplace is hosted by DGS&D and the DGS&D with the technical support of the National e-Governance Division (Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology) has created the GeM portal.

The GeM portal was launched on 9^th August 2016 by the Commerce & Industry Minister.

Public procurement is a significant aspect of government activity and reform. It is one of the top priorities and an extremely bold step of the current Government. The procurement on Government e-Marketplace has been authorized by General Financial Rules by rolling out important changes in government rules.

Presently you can find more than 7400 products in about 150 product categories. The hiring of transport service is also available on the GeM portal. Transactions of more than Rs. 140 Crores have already been processed through Government e-Marketplace.

Aim of Government e-Marketplace

To transform the purchase of goods and services that are done by the Government Ministries and Departments, Public Sector Undertakings (PSU’s), and other autonomous bodies of the Central Government.

Backdrop

Government e-Marketplace was proposed way back in January 2016 to Prime Minister Modi by two groups of secretaries. They suggested setting up of a committed e-market for various merchandise and services purchased or sold by Government/PSUs other than transforming DGS&D. In the budget speech of Financial Year 2016-17, the finance minister has announced setting up of a technology-driven platform to encourage procurements of goods and services by the government officials.

Advantages of Government e-Marketplace

• It is completely paperless
• It is cashless
• Completely online
• Seamless processes
• Online time-bound payment through integration with PFMS and State Bank Multi Option System (SBMOPS)
• It enables the procurement of common use goods and services with minimal human interface
• No entry barriers to bonafide providers who wish to do business with the Government
• Web-services integration is extended to payment systems of Defense, Railways, major PSUs and State Governments
• Eliminates human interface in merchant registration, order placement, and payment processing, to a great extent
• At every stage, SMS alerts and e-mail would send to the buyer, his/her head of the organization, paying authorities as well as vendors.

GEM ADVANTAGES

For Buyers

• Search, compare, select and buy provision
• Rich listing of items for individual categories of goods/services
• The continuous seller rating system
• Easy return policy
• Transparent and ease of purchasing
• Online buying of goods and services, as and when required
• User-friendly dashboard for buying and monitoring payment and supplies

For Sellers

• One stop shop for marketing/ procurement with minimal efforts
• Direct access to all Government divisions
• One stop shop for bids / reverse auction on services/products
• New product suggestion facility is also available to sellers
• Dynamic pricing: Price can be changed depending on the market conditions
• Seller friendly dashboard for selling and monitoring of payments and supplies
• Consistent and uniform purchase methodology

Facilities

• Listing of common use items for individual, prescribed categories of goods/ services
• Transparency and ease of purchasing
• Online purchasing  of goods and services, as and when required
• Single window system for collecting orders and demands
• Useful for low-value purchasing and for a bulk purchasing at a competitive price using Reverse Auction/ e-bidding
• Continuous merchant rating system
• Look, estimate, compare and purchasing facility on a dynamic pricing basis
• Market place purchasing of a majority of common user products
• User-friendly dashboard for purchasing and monitoring supplies and payments
• Easy return policy