Government e-Marketplace (GeM), the national public procurement portal under the Union ministry of commerce and industry, organised a Seller Samvad programme, second of the series in Kolkata on September 21.
It was an interactive session to generate awareness about the new features and functionalities of GeM as also to create awareness among the probable vendors.
A number of GeM vendors shared their rich experiences, saying their volume of business has grown ever since they registered with Government e-Marketplace. They are also now able to operate in much larger areas than earlier as it helps in tying up with various government and private entities. GeM portal is open for all the buyers and sellers across the country. It offers profitable opportunities for both manufacturing and trading entities as well as service providers.
Interacting with the sellers, Sayantan Roy, director (services), GeM, New Delhi said the GeM is providing increasing market access to seller groups like MSEs, women self-help groups, start-ups reinforcing the Make in India Initiative and govt of India’s policy to promote local micro, small and medium enterprises (MSEs).
Roy stated that GeM functions as the national procurement portal. It is worth noting that this GeM that operates with three main objectives of efficiency, transparency and inclusiveness, is free from direct contact, paper, cash and status layers. So far about 1 crore transactions worth Rs 3.02 lakh crores have been made through this portal. A milestone in this process is that the procurement value crossed Rs 1 lakh crore in FY 21-22 alone.
Since the launch of the portal on August 9, 2016, the number of products sold and procured through the GeM has increased and at present, it is over 10,000. With this as a thought, it is felt that GeM has been able to impact a large set of sellers as stakeholders in India’s public procurement ecosystem. It is also planned to have these sellers speak about their experiences and share the same with others to learn from and get inspired. The same event was also held in Siliguri on September 19, 2022.
