Forget Flipkart, Amazon, government is buying lakhs of smart phones from this little known portal

Government E-Marketplace (GeM): Government departments are buying lakhs of smart phones, bicycles, computers and printers online to cut cost and root out corruption in public procurement. However, these large scale online purchases don’t mean big bucks to top e-commerce firms such as Amzaon, Flipkart and Snapdeal.

Thanks to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Digital India initiative, a little known government portal is helping various ministries, departments, PSUs and state governments to purchase these items at competitive prices in a transparent manner.

Early this year when women and child development department of government of Maharashtra was looking to purchase over 1.2 lakh smart phones for its Poshan Abhiyan scheme, it did not turn to Amazon or Flipkart. It procured these phones at a total cost of Rs 100 crore, over Rs 8,300 a piece. The order was placed on Government E-Marketplace (GeM) portal through competitive bidding.