What happened at GeM’s 10th Foundation Day

Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal addressed the 10th Foundation Day celebration of Government e Marketplace (GeM) at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi. He called for a new public procurement platform design that is user-friendly and AI-enabled so that government procurement becomes more efficient, cost-effective, transparent, and competitive. The event also marked GeM’s entry into its second decade, with a presentation on GeM’s 10-year journey and the launch of a dedicated GeM helpdesk short code.

GeM basics and official growth metrics presented at the event

GeM was launched on 9 August 2016 under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, initially inspired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision for technology-enabled, transparent, and efficient governance. The government communication presented GeM as a unified public procurement platform connecting government buyers and enterprises across India and described GeM’s participation base and procurement volume as follows: - More than 25 lakh sellers - Over 1.37 lakh buyer organisations - Cumulative procurement facilitated: over ₹20 lakh crore through more than 3.78 crore orders

GeM’s inclusion and participation (as stated in the government communication)

The event communication highlighted participation by Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs), women-led MSEs, and startups: - 12.28 lakh Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs) fulfilled orders worth more than ₹9 lakh crore; these orders account for 45.6% of cumulative GMV (Gross Merchandise Value) - More than 2.24 lakh women-led MSEs fulfilled over 50 lakh orders valued at more than ₹1 lakh crore - 42,242 startups secured orders worth more than ₹65,633 crore

Related current affairs