World’s 3rd largest e-commerce platform

• The procurement of goods and services through the Government e-Market (GeM) portal has witnessed a significant surge, doubling to over Rs 4 lakh crore in the current fiscal year compared to Rs 2 lakh crore in the previous fiscal.
• GeM CEO PK Singh announced that as of March 28, the procurement of services from GeM has notably increased from Rs 66,000 crore in 2022-23 to Rs 2.05 lakh crore, while goods worth Rs 1.95 lakh crore have been procured.

DEFENCE PROCUREMENT MAJOR BUSINESS ACTIVITIES OF GEM:

• Defence procurement is one of the major business activities of this platform. The assembly of the BrahMos missile is being done through GeM as a service contract.
• In the defence sector, supplies ranging from eggs to missile parts are being made through the portal.
• GeM provides a level playing field to domestic businesses, especially small businesses, which are physically away from popular markets, to grow and flourish.
• The portal has collaborated with over 520,000 Common Service Centers (CSCs) and over 150,000 Indian Post Offices to connect remote locations in the country for seamless purchases.
• GeM offers a wide range of goods and services. This includes hiring of office stationery, passenger vehicles, helicopter services, waste management and webcasting.

ABOUT GOVERNMENT E-MARKET (GEM) PORTAL:

• GeM was launched in the year 2016 to facilitate procurement of goods and services by many government departments and organizations. It is an online platform launched by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India.
• GeM is open to all government departments, public sector undertakings, autonomous bodies and other organizations.
• Currently South Korea’s KONEPS is the world’s largest online platform. GeM is at third place after Singapore’s GeBIZ.