GeM to end corruption, made compulsory for all departments to streamline government procurement
GeM to end corruption, made compulsory for all departments to streamline government procurement

It will be now mandatory for all government departments and ministries to source goods and services from GeM(Government market place).

GeM was launched by the commerce ministry last year for online purchase of goods and services by various central government ministries and departments.

According to an official, the Finance Ministry has amended the General Financial Rules (GFRs) as per which it is now compulsory to procure items and services from this portal.

This will bring transparency in the system and streamline the government procurement, estimated at Rs 10,000 crore a year.

Currently over 9,000 products from 250 categories including computers, stationery and several services are registered by different vendors on the portal. The portal has been developed by the Directorate General of Supplies and Disposals (DSG&D), which comes under the commerce Ministry.

Other areas like cleaning, plumbing and digitisation of records are likely to get included to increase the number of services.

 "In one month time, we will do this. The work is going in full swing", said an official.

According to the GFRs released yesterday, "the procurement of goods and services by ministries or departments will be mandatory for goods and services available on GeM".

 E-commerce is a fast growing industry in the country. According to a study, e-commerce market is likely to grow 10-fold in next five years to reach USD 100 billion on the back of increasing penetration of Internet, smartphones and spread of digital network in rural areas.

 
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