Bhoomika Singh
The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Modi, approved the mandate of the Government e-Marketplace – Special Purpose Vehicle (GeM) to allow cooperatives to be buyers on the government’s e-commerce portal, where MSMEs contribute 58 per cent of the total transaction value.
The move will help over 8.54 lakh registered cooperatives and their 27 crore members as they will get products at competitive rates from the GeM portal.
These cooperatives will benefit from this decision, Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur said in a media briefing.
GeM, launched on August 9, 2016, by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry to create an open and transparent procurement platform for government buyers, was established as the National Public Procurement Portal on May 17, 2017. 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.
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As per the existing mandate, goods and services registered on the GeM portal are not available for use by private sector buyers. Suppliers (sellers) can be from across all segments–government or private.
Key highlights of GeM expansion
- Allowing cooperative societies to register on GeM as buyers would help cooperatives in getting competitive prices through an open and transparent process.
- The validated list of cooperatives to be onboarded on GeM will be decided by the Ministry of Cooperation in consultation with GeM SPV.
- GeM will provide the technical infrastructure to support additional users on the existing portal, as well as help cooperatives for onboarding and transaction journeys, via available contact centres, in-field training and other support services.
- Ministry of Cooperation would issue necessary advisories to encourage the Cooperative Societies to make use of the GeM platform and to protect the interests of the broader seller community.
- GeM is also expected to enhance the overall “Ease of Doing Business” for cooperatives while providing a larger Buyer base to the GeM registered sellers also.
GeM Growth
The GeM SPV has made significant strides since its inception. The Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) has grown with a CAGR of over 84.5 per cent from FY2018-19 to FY2021-22. The portal has delivered 178 per cent growth in GMV in FY2021-22 and has crossed Rs 1 lakh Crore in FY2021-22 alone, which is higher than the cumulative GMV till FY2020-21.
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Expenditure involved
The GeM SPV may need some investments in additional technology infrastructure, and additional training and support resources. To cover these incremental costs, GeM may charge an appropriate transaction fee from cooperatives, to be decided in mutual consultation with the Ministry of Cooperation. Such charges shall not be more than the charges which GeM would charge to other government buyers.
