Govt’s online marketplace GeM clocks transaction worth Rs40,000 crore

NEW DELHI : Public procurement worth Rs40,000 crore has taken place through the government’s online marketplace GeM, Expenditure Secretary TV Somanathan said on Monday.

Stressing that the focus of public procurement system is on economy, rigour, fairness and transparency, he said the efficiency of procurement makes a big difference to the fiscal discipline of government. Towards this, the government has recently revised the general financial rules (GFR) and procurement manuals, and made advances in the use of technology in procurement.

The Government e-Marketplace (GeM), an online platform for public procurement, was launched by the Commerce Ministry in August 2016 with the objective of creating an open and transparent procurement platform for government departments. Currently, 3.24 lakh vendors are registered on this platform.