The procurement of goods and services from the official portal GeM is expected to surpass Rs 4 lakh crore by the end of the 2023-24 fiscal year, GeM CEO, P K Singh said on Monday. The official said the increased buying activities by several ministries and departments are anticipated to contribute to the growth.
Addressing the media, Singh said the procurement has already crossed Rs 3 lakh crore and is expected to touch Rs 4 lakh crore by the end of the current fiscal year, reported PTI. The Government e-Market (GeM) portal was launched earlier in August 2016, for facilitating online purchases of goods and services by all ministries and departments under the central government.
As of 2021-22, the procurement value touched Rs 1.06 lakh crore and bypassed the Rs 2 lakh crore mark last year, Singh added. He noted that Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) like Coal India were steadily increasing their share in procuring goods and services from the portal. “More than 245 CPSEs, including Coal India, SAIL, NTPC, and SBI, are participating in the process. GeM has over 63,000 government buyer organisations and over 62 lakh sellers and service providers offering a wide range of products and services. Currently, government departments, ministries, public sector units, state governments, and central armed police forces are allowed to carry out transactions through this portal,” the official stated.
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Notably, the portal allows departments to purchase from a wide range of products and services like office stationery, vehicles, waste management, web casting, analytical, logistics, transportation, etc. Among these, automobiles, office furniture, and computers are among the major product categories available.
Comparatively, South Korea’s KONEPS marks the largest such kind of platform globally, followed by Singapore’s GeBIZ portal, and finally India’s GeM at the third position. Among the states in the country, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Delhi, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Assam, Jammu & Kashmir, Bihar, and Uttarakhand are some of the states that have placed major orders in FY24.
Singh noted that adding the services sector to the portal has helped increase its popularity. The services sector accounts for 50 per cent of the overall procurement in the 2023-24 fiscal year, against a share of 23 per cent in the 2021-22 fiscal year. The procurement of services from the portal has also climbed to Rs 1.30 lakh crore so far, from Rs 66,000 crore in FY23, he said.
“In this financial year, concerted efforts were made to reach out to various government bodies and maximise their participation in public procurement process through GeM. While central entities have contributed to 82 per cent of the current GMV (Gross Merchandise Value), increased engagement from states has propelled the platform’s growth,” the official observed.
He added that states’ procurement of goods and services stood at Rs 49,302 crore in the current fiscal year so far. In terms of participation from the northeastern states, he said that the procurement has gradually increased, in which Tripura accounts for procurement worth Rs 200 crore so far in the fiscal.
The overall procurement from the platform stood at Rs 7 lakh crore, with savings of nearly Rs 70,000 crore to the government exchequer, the official informed.