Govt e-marketplace GeM onboards over 2 m sellers, records Rs4-cr turnover

Government e-marketplace (GeM) has onboarded 2.1 million sellers and doubled its turnover (gross merchandise value) as of end-March 2024, doubling the GMV year-on-year.

GeM, with its unique digital capabilities and seamless operation, facilitates efficient and transparent public procurement of goods and services by various government departments.

The doubling of government e-procurement also saw a surge in the procurement of services through the GeM portal, which now accounts for nearly 50 per cent of the total transactions.

In fact, services procurement through GeM grew 205 per cent over the previous fiscal. Procurement of services through the portal jumped from Rs66,000 crore in 2022-23 to Rs2.05 lakh crore this fiscal, ie, by 28 March 2024.

Similarly, procurement of goods through the platform rose to Rs1.95 lakh crore.

By facilitating access to the market, GeM has helped break down the cartel of established service providers, and allowing small entrepreneurs across the country to participate in government tenders. 

The portal now offers more than 12,070 product categories and over 320 service categories, facilitating seamless public procurement.

GeM has also accumulated a vast repository of services, expanding the pool and introducing innovative solutions for government procurement.

The GeM portal was launched on 9 August 2016 to facilitate online purchase of goods and services by central ministries and departments.

By 2021-22, government procurement through the portal reached Rs1.06 lakh crore and doubled to Rs2 lakh crore last financial year.

The phenomenal growth has been achieved by an increase in e-procurement by states, especially Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi.

Government organisation accounted for nearly 85 per cent of this Rs4 lakh crore GeM transactions. Government ministries such as coal, power and petroleum and natural gas and their subsidiaries were the top procuring entities at the central level.

GeM, with its network of over 1.5 lakh government buyers and 21 lakh sellers and service providers, including artisans, weavers, craftsmen, MSEs, especially women-led and SC/STs, SHGs, FPOs and startups also integrates 89,421 village panchayats and 760 cooperative organisations with its procurement ecosystem.

Earlier this financial year, GeM engaged Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) for upgrading its technological Infrastructure by adapting new-age technologies to further enhance user experience.