Procurement from GeM portal may reach Rs 3.5 lakh crore this fiscal

New Delhi: The procurement of goods and services from the government portal GeM is expected to touch Rs 3.5 lakh crore by the end of this fiscal due to higher buying activities by various ministries and departments, a senior government official said.

The government e-Market (GeM) portal was launched on August 9, 2016, for online purchases of goods and services by all the central government ministries and departments.

"As of today, the procurement has reached Rs 2.4 lakh crore and going by the trend, the procurement this fiscal will reach close to Rs 3.50 lakh crore, hopefully," GeM CEO P K Singh told reporters here.

In 2021-22, the procurement value stood at Rs 1.06 lakh crore. It crossed Rs 2 lakh crore last year.

Singh said that the share of central public sector enterprises (CPSEs) in the total buying of goods and services is increasing at a healthy rate.

More than 245 CPSEs, including Coal India, SAIL, NTPC and SBI, are participating in the process.

The top five undertakings that are procuring maximum in value terms this fiscal (till December 10) include Coal India, National Thermal Power Corporation, Steel Authority of India, Bharat Dynamics and Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd.

"In just 6.5 months of 2023-24, procurement by CPSEs has surpassed Rs 1 lakh crore mark. Buying carried out by these units on GeM contributed about 63 per cent to total procurement," Singh said.

GeM has over 63,000 government buyer organisations and over 62 lakh sellers and service providers offering a wide range of products and services.

Currently, government departments, ministries, public sector units, state governments, and central armed police forces are allowed to carry out transactions through this portal.

The portal provides a wide range of products from office stationery to vehicles.

Automobiles, computers and office furniture are some of the major product categories.

Services, including transportation, logistics, waste management, webcasting and analytical, are listed on the portal.

South Korea's KONEPS is the largest such platform in the world.

Currently, GeM stands at the third position after Singapore's GeBIZ.

States/union territories like Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Odisha, Bihar, Assam, and Uttarakhand have placed significant amounts of procurement orders in the current financial year.

"GeM's expansion into the services sector has played a pivotal role in driving its accelerated adoption," he said, adding that services sector contribution in the total procurement has increased from 23 per cent in 2021-22 to about 50 per cent this fiscal.