The government is open to allowing the private sector to source goods and services through the Government e-Market (GeM) portal run by the Commerce Ministry once the required infrastructure is in place, Commerce Minister Suresh Prabhu said.

“We will also allow the private sector to buy (using the platform). If volumes increase, the government would gain. However, a proper verification process has to be in place. Here, we guarantee payment within 10 days to sellers. We have to put a system in place to ensure that the private sector can also meet these requirements,” the Minister said talking to reporters at the launch of the National Mission on GeM for increasing awareness and accelerating its use by major Central Ministries, States and their agencies.

The GeM platform provides online, end-to-end solution for procurement of commonly used goods and services for all Central Government Departments and State Governments, public sector units and affiliated bodies.

The Minister said in the next three years transactions on GeM will reach $100 billion. “During this mission, efforts will be made to bring more self-help groups, artisans and start-ups on this platform,” he said.

The GeM, which completed two years last month, clocked transactions of over ₹10,800 crore in value terms and 6.96 lakh in volume through the platform. More than 1.35 lakh sellers offer 4.43 lakh products on the GeM platform which has 26,500 organisations as buyers.

While all States and Union Territories are buying through GeM, 25 States and UTs have already signed an MoU to make procurement through GeM mandatory. It has led to an overall average saving in cost of procurement to the tune of about 25 per cent, according to the Commerce Ministry.

The mission also aims to give a boost to “cashless, contactless, paperless’’ transactions in line with digital India objectives, according to an official release. It will improve overall efficiency driving significant savings in Government procurement spends.

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