The Government e-Marketplace (GeM) has recently introduced a new regulation for sellers, making the declaration of the Country of Origin mandatory when registering new products on the platform. This initiative was taken under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, with the aim to strengthen the Make in India and Atma Nirbhar Bharat initiatives.
New Provisions Implemented
The GeM platform now consists of a feature that allows sellers to indicate the percentage of local content in their products. With this introduction, potential buyers can view both the Country of Origin and the percentage of local content for all products listed on the marketplace. To facilitate the promotion of locally produced goods, a ‘Make in India’ filter has also been installed on the portal. This feature enables buyers to filter out products that do not meet their minimum preference of 50% local content.
The Significance of GeM
Since its inauguration, GeM has been actively promoting the ‘Make in India’ initiative. The platform has successfully encouraged the participation of small local sellers in Public Procurement whilst upholding the ‘Make in India’ and MSME Purchase Preference Policies of the Government. Furthermore, as part of its response to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, GeM has been facilitating prompt, efficient, transparent, and cost-effective procurement for government organizations.
In line with the Atma Nirbhar Bharat policy launched in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic, GeM has been encouraging self-reliance and supporting small Indian manufacturers.
About Government e-Marketplace (GeM)
GeM is a comprehensive National Public Procurement Portal designed to facilitate the online procurement of commonly used Goods & Services required by numerous Central and State Government Departments, Organizations, and Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs). It was officially launched in 2016 with an objective to boost transparency and efficiency in government procurement procedures.
The platform operates under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and mandates the procurement of goods and services by Ministries and Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) for goods and services available on GeM. The portal is equipped with e-bidding and reverse e-auction tools designed to help government users secure the best value for their money.
Currently, GeM boasts of an extensive database of over 15 lakh products, around 20,000 services, and more than 40,000 Government buyer organizations.
