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The Government e-Marketplace (GeM) has moved a proposal to the Union Cabinet for extending its portfolio to bring ‘works’ into its procurement ambit, said sources privy to efforts being made to bring transparency and ease of doing business in government functioning.
GeM, highly placed sources told businessline, desires to rope in Central Public Works Department (CPWD), which comes under the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, and Army’s Military Engineering Service, among similar other organisations, within its fold to facilitate the infrastructure jobs of the government.
Bringing transparency
The move aims to bring multiple benefits in public procurement by the concerned ministries. It will, believe government officials, help bring transparency, improve decision-making process, curb corruption associated in the public sector construction jobs, besides offering dynamic pricing and a strong vendor rating system.
A senior officer also stated that the GeM has been able to save costs through reverse auction up to maximum of 25 per cent when compared with average original L1 price.
“Considering GDP of our country to be ₹190-lakh crore, ₹34-lakh crore is spent on public procurement. Various procurements by the Central and State governments, PSU banks and autonomous bodies amenable to e-procurement is to the tune of ₹ 8-lakh core to ₹10-lakh crore per year of which GeM captured around ₹2-lakh crore last year,” stated Gem sources to assert that there is scope for getting in more volume.
The GeM, as per government statistics, now has 68,605 primary buyers compared to 49,325 two years ago. Likewise, the number of sellers is 62,57,735. There are 31,56,408 product categories and 290 plus service categories.
Total orders of 1,52,81,398 have ensured cumulative total transaction value as ₹4,19,629 crore. Out of these, 42 per cent orders are from the defence buyers, which is the reason for Ministry of Defence to emerge top buyer in 2022-23, as per the GeM.
The Ministry is said to have instructed the tri-services, Army, Air Force and Navy, and other organisations under its umbrella to undertake capital procurements also through GeM, which would allow for acquisition through this e-platform. The GeM recently collaborated with Society of Indian Defence Manufacturers (SIDM) to raise a new platform to scale up capacity in defence sector for industries to effectively participate in GeM portal.
Training course
GeM CEO PK Singh conveyed at a training course for defence and aerospace that “with a staggering gross merchandise value (GMV) of ₹2-lakh crore, the organisation has established itself as a leading digital platform for procurement in India”.
The MoD’s spending on goods and services through the GeM went up by 90.4 per cent from the previous fiscal year, said SIDM DG Sunil Mishra at a recent engagement with government e-procurement platform officials. In the FY22, the Ministry had spent ₹15,0908 crore while in FY23 it rose to ₹28,732 crore, he stated.
For 2022-23, Army was handed over Platinum Aaward for highest procurement of approximately ₹9,100 crore against stipulated target of ₹6,500 crore which is about 160 per cent growth compared to the last fiscal year said Army officials. The Army’s Border Roads Organisation (BRO) has been buying through GeM wide range of products, including steel.
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