The procurement of goods and services through the Government e-Market (GeM) portal is expected to cross Rs 2 lakh crore in the current fiscal, according to GeM CEO P K Singh. The procurement had already reached Rs 1.5 lakh crore on February 1, 2023.

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Singh stated that there is a huge potential for states and public sector undertakings to increase their purchases from the platform, which was launched in August 2016 to enable online purchases of goods and services by all central government ministries and departments.

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The platform currently has over 66,000 government-buyer organisations and over 58 lakh sellers and service providers offering a diverse range of goods and services, from office stationery to vehicles.

The digitisation and automation of processes through GeM has resulted in higher process efficiencies, improved information sharing, increased transparency, reduced process cycle times, and greater trust among bidders, leading to increased competition and savings, Singh emphasising the importance of involving states in the platform. He said they are in continuous discussions with states to get them onboard. Central public sector enterprises account for around 50 percent of the total procurement that occurs on the platform.

GeM is currently the third-largest procurement platform in the world, after South Korea's KONEPS and Singapore's GeBIZ. However, Singh is confident that the GeM platform is growing at a faster pace and will surpass GeBIZ this year. The portal offers a convenient and effective way for the government to procure goods and services.

The expected crossing of Rs 2 lakh crore in procurement through the GeM portal is a testament to its efficiency and effectiveness as a procurement platform for the government, Singh said, adding that increased involvement of states and public sector undertakings is expected to further boost the growth of the platform.

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With inputs from PTI

(Edited by : Vijay Anand)