GeM, public procurement portal

• Piyush Goyal called upon Government e-Marketplace (GeM) to expand its scope and include more participants in the GeM portal for public procurement of both Products & Services.
• GeM is an online marketplace that was launched in 2016 to ensure that public procurement of goods and services in India worth more than Rs. 5 lakh crore annually is carried out through the online platform.

It has been developed by the Directorate General of Supplies and Disposal (DGS&D) with technical support of the National E-Governance Division (NEGD), Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.

Benefits of GeM:

1. Transparency: GeM eliminates the human interface in vendor registration, order placement, and payment processing, to a great extent.
2. Efficiency: Direct purchase on GeM can be done in a matter of minutes.
3. Secure and safe: GeM is a completely secure platform and all the documents on GeM are e-Signed at various stages by the buyers and sellers.
4. Savings to the Government: The transparency, efficiency, and ease of use of the GeM portal have resulted in a substantial reduction in prices on GeM.