The Prime Minister last week said that the Government eMarketplace (GeM) - India’s public procurement marketplace for MSMEs - has helped Indian small businesses find big customers: government departments, central public sector enterprises, etc. At the same time, he added, the portal has enhanced transparency and reduced scope for corruption in the public procurement process.

As per latest statistics, order volume of goods and services by central government ministries and departments has now crossed whopping 12 million or 1.2 crores on GeM. The portal achieved annual procurement of Rs. 1 lakh crore in Financial Year 2021-22. It is also notable that 57% of order value is coming from the MSME sector. No doubt, this portal has transformed the public procurement system for MSMEs.

The Prime Minister rightly pointed out, “Have you heard of a government running a successful e-commerce platform? It has happened in India.” GeM was launched in 2016 and since then the portal has steadily been growing, with about 300 service categories and over 10000+ product categories available on it. Since its inception, GeM has facilitated over 1 Crore transactions valued at over Rs 3.02 Lakh Crore.

Recently, the Union Commerce Minister, while reviewing the progress of GeM, said that the portal has planned significant technical upgrades, including use of AI, to improve user experience on the platform. Such steps are encouraging and experts view that GeM can play a significant role in promoting social inclusiveness by strengthening the Indian micro and small enterprises sector.

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