The Centre has taken several initiatives to expand the reach of Government e-Marketplace (GeM) among MSEs, startups and women entrepreneurs.

This includes provision of Marketplace filters and product catalogue icons to distinguish product catalogues by MSMEs, startups and women entrepreneurs in Direct Purchase/ L1 mode of procurement and reduced Vendor Assessment Fees for Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) and exemption from payment of caution money, among others, said Minister of State for Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Jitin Prasada, in in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha.

Other measures include forward market linkages for women, startups, self help groups, artisans and weavers, One District One Product (ODOP), Farmers Producer Organisation (FPOs) etc. through the creation of eight GeM uutlet stores; Application Programming Interface (API) integration with Udyam MSME database for 2-step seller auto-registration on the GeM platform; strategic relationships through Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs) with key players and immersive onboarding (from seller registration to product catalogue upload on the portal) of sellers, catalogue success stories of sellers for enhanced interest and engagement among prospective sellers.

For increasing the participation of entrepreneurs from SCs and STs, GeM provides marketplace filters to distinguish product catalogues by SC/ST entrepreneurs in Direct Purchase/ L1 mode of procurement. thus facilitating compliance with the Public Procurement Policies for Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs) Order, 2012 by government buyers, said the minister.

More than 10 lakh micro and small enterprises (MSEs) have joined the GeM portal and total transaction value on GeM has reached around Rs 5.40 lakh crore in FY2024-25.

The platform is also enabling complex services such as drone-as-a-service for AIIMS, GIS and insurance for over 1.3 crore lives, and wet leasing of chartered flights and CT scanners. GeM has now been adopted across all 36 states and union territories, with Uttar Pradesh leading the way.