Government e Marketplace

Government e Marketplace (GeM)
CountryIndia
MinistryMinistry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India
Key peopleSh. Sunil Barthwal, Secretary, Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce & Industry and Chairperson & Nominee Director, GeM.
Sh. Alkesh Kumar Sharma, Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and IT, Government of India & Nominee Director, GeM.
Sh. L Satya Srinivas, Additional Secretary, Department of Commerce and CEO, GeM.
Sh. Sanjay Prasad Additional Secretary, Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance, Government of India & Nominee Director, GeM.
Sh. Anant Swarup, Joint Secretary, Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Government of India & Nominee Director, GeM.
Launched9 August 2016; 8 years ago (2016-08-09)
New Delhi, India
Websitegem.gov.in

Government e Marketplace (GeM) is an online platform for public procurement in India.[1] The initiative was launched on 9 August 2016, by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India with the objective to create an open and transparent procurement platform for government buyers.[2] It was built in a record time of 5 months to facilitate the online procurement of goods and Services. The purchases through GeM by Government users have been authorized and made mandatory by the Ministry of Finance by adding a new Rule No. 149 in the General Financial Rules, 2017.[3]

The platform is owned by GeM SPV (Special Purpose Vehicle) which is a 100 percent Government-owned, non-profit company under the Ministry of Commerce and Industries, Government of India.[4]

GeM is a contactless, paperless and cashless online marketplace that replaced the Directorate General of Supplies and Disposals (DGS&D) in 2016.[5][6] Since its inception, GeM has brought in the visibility and transparency in public procurement.[1] The portal has transformed public procurement in India[1] by driving its three pillars, namely, inclusion, usability and transparency and efficiency and cost savings.[7] According to an independent assessment made by the World Bank, average savings for buyers in Government e Marketplace portal is about 9.75% on the median price.[8] The Government of India has made it mandatory for sellers to display the 'country of origin' on products to be sold on GeM portal.[9]

The present Chief Executive Officer (on additional charge) of Government e Marketplace is Shri L Satya Srinivas, an officer of the 1991 batch of the Indian Revenue Service (Customs & Indirect Taxes).

  1. ^ a b c Mishra, Richa (9 March 2020). "A GeM of a marketplace". Business Line. The Hindu.
  2. ^ "Government e-Marketplace working on series of steps to strengthen public procurement portal". The Economic Times. 1 September 2020.
  3. ^ "Government e-Market | GeM". Archived from the original on 26 February 2018. Retrieved 1 August 2021.
  4. ^ "SPV to operate government e-marketplace portal for purchases". The Financial Express (India). 13 April 2017.
  5. ^ Mishra, Asit Ranjan (7 November 2019). "Government seeks to convert GeM into a public limited firm to unlock value". Live Mint.
  6. ^ Beniwal, Vrishti (18 September 2020). "Government's Version of Amazon.com Helps India Save $1 Billion". Bloomberg News.
  7. ^ "GeM Platform be made available for Common Man: Commerce & Industry Minister". Press Information Bureau. 5 December 2019.
  8. ^ Suneja, Kirtika (10 August 2020). "Phased integration of railways, defence procurement system with GeM: Government". The Economic Times.
  9. ^ "Spotting Chinese products on Amazon of govt buying; GeM to track country of origin amid boycott calls". The Financial Express (India). 23 June 2020.