Muristek
New Delhi, June 1
The government today approved a proposal to expand the mandate of Government e-Marketplace (GeM) by allowing procurement by cooperatives.
A decision in this regard was taken at a meeting of the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Lauding the decision, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said, "GeM will provide a transparent platform to cooperatives for buying goods at reasonable prices. This will benefit around 27 crore people associated with nearly 8.5 lakh cooperative societies."
He also said along with this, the MSMEs would also get a large base of buyers and would eventually strengthen PM Modi's call for 'vocal for local' and 'self-reliant India'."
As per the existing mandate, goods and services registered at the GeM portal are not available for use by private buyers. Suppliers (sellers) can be from across all segments — government or private.
The GeM was launched on August 9, 2016, by the Ministry of Commerce to create an open and transparent procurement platform for government buyers. At present, the platform is open for procurement by all government buyers — central and state ministries, departments, public sector enterprises, autonomous institutions and local bodies.
Allowing cooperative societies to register on the GeM portal as buyers would help cooperatives get competitive prices through an open and transparent process, said Shah.
To help 27 cr people
GeM will provide a transparent platform to cooperatives for buying goods at reasonable prices. This will benefit around 27 crore people associated with nearly 8.5 lakh cooperative societies. Amit Shah, Home Minister