Started by the Government of India, the online procurement platform serves to rationalize purchases of goods and services by the public. It ensures transparency, enhances efficiency, and is cost-effective in enabling government buyers to procure from verified sellers while promoting Make in India, MSMEs, and digital governance initiatives.
About the Government e-Marketplace (GeM)
- Hon’ble Prime Minister, based on recommendations of the Group of Secretaries, decided to set up a dedicated e market for different goods & services procured by Government Organisations / Departments / PSUs.
- This meant transforming DGS&D to a digital ecommerce portal for procurement and selling of goods and services.
- Government e Marketplace (GeM), created in a record time of five months, facilitates online procurement of common use Goods & Services required by various Government Departments / Organisations / PSUs.
- GeM aims to enhance transparency, efficiency and speed in public procurement.
- It provides the tools of e-bidding, reverse e-auction and demand aggregation to facilitate the government users, achieve the best value for their money.
Features of the Government e-Marketplace (GeM)
End-to-End Digital Procurement Services
- GeM guarantees a paperless, cashless, and system-driven procurement environment, stripping away manual intervention and enhancing efficiency.
Wide Product and Service Categories
- It has a full range of goods and services on offer – office supplies, vehicles, IT equipment, consultancy, and manpower services.
Direct Purchase, Bidding, Reverse Auction
- Buyers procure products on direct purchase for low-value transactions, whereas high-value transactions go for competitive bidding and reverse auctions to ensure cost savings.
Integration With Other Government Systems
- GeM is integrated with other government platforms like UIDAI, GSTN, PFMS, and MSME databases, allowing verification and payment processes to happen on a fly.
Support to MSMEs and Startups
- The portal provides support to Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), startups, and women entrepreneurs by way of favor and benefits as per government policies.
Transparency and Efficiency
- GeM assures real-time price discovery, aggregation of demand, and online grievance redressal with which corruption and inefficiencies in procurement are set to be wiped off.
User-Friendly Dashboard
- The platform provides customized dashboards for buyers and sellers, allowing better decision-making through data-driven insights.
Vision, Mission & Values of the Government e-Marketplace (GeM)
Vision
- To affect an evolution in public procurement promoting a transparent, efficient and inclusive marketplace.
Mission
- Institute a unified procurement policy to encourage behavorial change and drive reform.
- Establish a lean, dynamic organization capable of continuous innovation and market driven decision making.
- Build an easy to use, fully automated platform to ensure transparency and efficiency in procurement
- Demonstrate commitment to delivering value by ensuring right quality at right price
- Create a sustainable ecosystem covering all stakeholders and driving inclusive development in India
Values
- Commitment
- Responsiveness
- Ownership and Accountability
- Transparency and Integrity
- Social Inclusion
- Innovate to simplify
- Be Bold and Think Big
Significance of the Government e-Marketplace (GeM)
- Transparency and Efficiency – GeM eliminates the middlemen, reducing opportunities for bribery and corrupt practices and ensuring fair competition among sellers. The automation of procurement brings in more accountability and reduces delays.
- Cost Savings – Being a price-competitive platform, governments may engage in buying at the best market prices. The concept of making sellers compete is upheld by opportunities for a buyer to view real-time price comparisons and rejection of intermediaries to make direct payment to the vendors, hence avoiding unnecessary costs.
- MSME and Startup Promotion – GeM enables MSMEs, startups, and women entrepreneurs to have direct access to government buyers, thereby boosting economic growth.
- Ease of Doing Business – The simplified online procurement procedure reduces the amount of paperwork, provides efficient process flow, and promotes the payment mechanism for vendors in time, thereby being business-friendly.
- Integration with Digital India – GeM is paperless, cashless, and contactless, thus supporting the Digital India initiatives for e-governance.
- Make-in-India Initiative – The procurement platform under Make in India seeks domestic manufacturers, thereby encouraging local industry and minimizing dependence on imports.
Lacunae of the Government e-Marketplace (GeM)
Government e-Marketplace (GeM) is a truly disruption-aimed sector, with problems preventing its full efficiency.
Limited Participation of Vendors
Many MSMEs and local industries find the registration method difficult, have limited digital literacy, and encounter tough compliances. This scenario leads to less competition and product diversity.
Quality and Standardization Issues
Inconsistency is another factor with regard to quality and standardization. Some buyers have reported that the seller list’s product specifications are contrary to the actual product delivered by them, thus creating trust issues and inefficiency in procurement.
Technical and Operational Challenges
Portal downtime and slow processing times have been a few of the operational problems in GeM, causing technical glitches to hamper smooth transactions. Delays on the other hand in the payment process and order fulfillment further discourage vendors to enter actively into the scheme.
Procurement Process Complexity
Buyers often find it challenging to navigate the e-bidding and reverse auction mechanisms, leading to inefficient purchasing decisions. Additionally, lack of clear guidelines for bulk procurement affects large-scale purchases.
Lack of Awareness and Training
Many government officials and vendors are unaware of platform functionalities, resulting in underutilization. Insufficient training programs lead to errors in procurement and compliance-related issues.
Risk of Monopolization
Certain large vendors dominate the marketplace, leading to reduced competition and price distortions, which go against the intended goal of fostering fair and competitive procurement.
Key Pointers of Government e-Marketplace for CSE Prelims
- Purpose – An online portal for the procurement of government departments, public sector undertakings, and ministries.
- Features – Paperless, cashless, and contactless procurement systems.
- Transparency – Middlemen are eliminated; thereby fair pricing and efficiency are ensured.
- MSME & Startup Support – Encourages participation of small businesses and startups.
- Integration – This is linked with the Aadhaar, Udyam, and PAN database.
- Digital India Initiative – Development of e-governance for efficiency in public procurement.
Way forward
To obtain maximum leverage for the Government e-Marketplace (GeM), the ingress of more vendors must be encouraged, with AI-based analytics embedded on the platform, smooth digital payments enabled, and excellent user experience cultivated. To further support MSMEs and make logistics efficient, along with strengthening cyber security, further buoy transparency, efficiencies, and inclusiveness are strengthened, thus, transforming the GeM platform into an efficient public service-procurement arena.
Conclusion
GeM serves as a thriving platform for transparent, efficient, and inclusive public procurement activities. Encouraging MSMEs, startups, and domestic manufacturing firms, the marketplace stands medial to the Digital India and Make in India campaign. Corruption-free, GeM improves digital governance in India by helping create an unfair and uncompetitive procurement system.
