(GIST OF YOJANA) GOVERNMENT E-MARKETPLACE - LEADING THE DIGITAL WAVE

(JANUARY-2024)

GOVERNMENT E-MARKETPLACE - LEADING THE DIGITAL WAVE

Introduction:

In India, public procurement amounts to nearly 20-25% of GDP. This means that a significant amount of taxpayers’ money is directed towards making purchases of public goods and services that constitute the lifeblood of government programmes and services. Given this context, the importance of efficient public procurement cannot be overstated.
To inculcate the Hon’ble Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of inclusive development, corruption-free governance, and ease of doing business, Government e-Marketplace (GeM) was conceptualised as a Special Purpose Vehicle under Section 8 of the Companies Act, within the ambit of the Department of Commerce. Since its inception, GeM has enabled more than INR 60,000 crore of public savings. The portal’s vast achievements have propelled it to ascend as one of the foremost public procurement platforms globally, surpassing even the most advanced counterparts such as South Korea’s KONEPS and Singapore’s GeBIZ across diverse metrics, all achieved in an astonishingly short period.

Need for a Digital Solution for Public Procurement

Government procurement used to be opaque, time-consuming, cumbersome, and prone to corruption and cartelisation.
Buyers were forced to purchase substandard goods at high, nonnegotiable rates from unscrupulous suppliers. Potential sellers had to learn from pillar to post
completely at the mercy of the facilitating agency, to get empaneled and then to get timely payments.

Genesis of GeM

Government e-Marketplace was set up with a vision to transform the public procurement ecosystem of the country with a technologically advanced, robust, and digital-only platform.
Through digitalisation of processes, GeM has led to higher process efficiencies, information sharing, improved transparency, reduced process cycle times, and a higher level of trust among bidders.

GeM- Promoting Ease of Doing Business

GeM as a Facilitator: The GeM portal connects buyers, sellers, and service providers on a unified platform to facilitate procurement of public goods and services.
Transformation through Cost Reduction and Efficiency: GeM has revolutionized public procurement in India by reducing costs, enhancing efficiency, and fostering transparency. The platform empowers buyers and sellers nationwide to engage in hassle-free digital transactions.
Inclusive empowerment of sellers: GeM empowers sellers of diverse backgrounds, including Women Entrepreneurs, Artisans, Self Help Groups, Cooperatives, MSEs, and Startups, offering a one-stop-shop in a contactless, cashless, and paperless ecosystem with timely online payments.
Seamless registration process - GeM’s registration process prioritises ease, convenience, and minimal data entry. It is validated through online integration with the Aadhaar database, serving as the primary user identification proof.
Dynamic Goods and Services Platform: GeM continuously updates its platform by adding new categories of goods and services based on the feedback received from various stakeholders.
Cashless payments and timely transactions: The platform supports 100% online payments, providing a truly cashless environment. It includes a payment gateway that supports Internet banking and allows integration with different payment systems, with enforced timelines for timely payments.
Information Visibility: GeM ensures visibility for MSEs, local sellers, and startups, allowing sellers to indicate the percentage of domestic content of the goods uploaded on the portal, aligning with the ‘Make in India’ initiative.
Trust-based Rating System: In a trustbased system like GeM, ratings become a key component of the overall system. GeM provides a rating system that continuously evaluates performance based on weighted and defined parameters. GeM has the provision of rating both the buyers and the sellers, enabling informed decision-making.
Responsive Contact Centre: GeM’s wellequipped contact centre, accessible in multiple languages, addresses user queries across various communication channels. The integrated chatbot, Ask GeMmy, route user concerns to the appropriate team.
Dispute resolution features: GeM introduced the Vivad se Vishwas-II (Contractual Dispute) functionality, a valuable feature for resolving disputes between buyers and sellers.
AL-ML-Based Decision Support: GeM is in the process of implementing AI/ML-based advanced analytics on GeM, which will help GeM reduce anomalies and frauds. These Albased models will provide real-time or nearreal-time feedback on various transactions happening on GeM, and will help a buyer make informed decisions as well as prevent anomalous transactions.

Conclusion:

In a short span, GeM’s buyer-seller ecosystem and its operations are twice as large as Amazon India and Flipkart combined. GeM has successfully established an infrastructure that not only captures data and facilitates end-to end activities of public procurement processes but also allows government buyers to source from multiple vendors at competitive rates. With improved functionalities, the platform is committed to adapting new-age technologies to transform public procurement with an aim to further enhance user experience, improve transparency, and induce greater inclusivity in public procurement process.