Government e-Marketplace Set to Become World's Largest Public Procurement Platform

In a major advancement for India's digital economy, the Government e-Marketplace (GeM) is on track to become the world's largest e-commerce portal for public procurement.

Official projections indicate that GeM is expected to exceed Rs 6 lakh crore in sales volume during the 2024-25 fiscal year, surpassing the current leader, Korea's ON-line E-Procurement System (KONEPS).

GeM CEO Prashant Kumar Singh announced that the platform has already achieved a gross merchandise value (GMV) of Rs 1.65 lakh crore in the current fiscal year, compared to Rs 4 lakh crore for the entire 2023-24 period.

In the first quarter alone, procurement amounted to Rs 1,24,761 crore, with services contributing Rs 80,502 crore—a significant increase from Rs 18,557 crore in the first quarter of the previous year.

"Driven by services, we expect to close the current financial year at around Rs 6 lakh crore. At this pace, we will soon become the world's largest online public procurement platform," Singh stated. GeM has already surpassed Singapore's GeBIZ to become the second-largest globally.

The platform's ambitious growth plans include two major initiatives to be implemented within the first 100 days of the new NDA government. Firstly, GeM aims to introduce an online bidding system for civil works contracts, pending cabinet approval.

This initiative would broaden GeM's offerings beyond goods and services, aligning it more closely with KONEPS' comprehensive model.

"The addition of civil works in GeM would expand its scope, enhance transparency in the award of public civil contracts, eliminate possibilities of corruption, and fix responsibilities for delays in the completion of public projects," explained an unnamed government official. The initiative will initially focus on smaller projects such as government buildings, pavements, and drainage systems.

The second major development is the launch of the 'GeM SAHAYAK' program, which aims to train and certify 5,000 individuals to provide expertise to buyers and sellers using the platform.

"GeM Sahayaks will offer their services to potential and existing users in navigating processes in the portal and help them with proper cataloguing to enhance the value proposition for them," Singh elaborated.

These experts will be strategically placed across key pin codes throughout the country, with plans to potentially double their numbers in the future.

Currently, GeM boasts over 150,000 government buyers and more than 6.2 million sellers, offering a wide range of goods and services.

The platform's success is partly attributed to the mandatory requirement for government entities to procure through GeM, fostering a robust ecosystem for public-private partnerships and supporting MSMEs.