In News:

The Government e-Marketplace (GeM) completed 10 years of operations on 9 August 2026, marking a decade of technology-driven transformation in India's public procurement system.

About GeM

• The Government e-Marketplace (GeM) is a unified, end-to-end digital platform designed to make government procurement paperless, cashless, contactless, transparent and competitive. It digitises the entire procurement cycle—from seller registration and product listing to bidding, contract award, order fulfilment and payment.
• GeM serves Central and State Ministries and Departments, PSUs, autonomous bodies, local bodies, Panchayats and cooperatives, creating a common digital marketplace for public procurement.
• Transparency and Efficient Procurement
• GeM provides multiple procurement mechanisms, including direct purchase, comparison, electronic bidding and reverse auctions. Digital records, automated workflows and real-time monitoring reduce discretion and improve accountability.
• Its data-driven tools, such as the GeM Availability Report, Past Transaction Summary, Last Purchase Price and price-trend analytics, help government buyers make more informed and cost-effective purchasing decisions.
• The platform is also being integrated with systems such as the Central Public Procurement Portal (CPPP), Indian Railway Electronic Procurement System (IREPS) and Defence Public Procurement Portal (DPPP).

Scale and Inclusiveness

• GeM has connected more than 1.37 lakh government buyer organisations with nearly 25 lakh sellers and service providers, facilitating cumulative procurement exceeding ?20 lakh crore.
• It currently covers more than 10,660 product categories and 350 service categories.
• A major contribution of GeM has been expanding access to government procurement for Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs), women entrepreneurs, SC/ST enterprises and startups. In 2025–26, more than 11 lakh registered MSEs executed over 51 lakh orders worth more than ?2.36 lakh crore.
• Similarly, more than 2.1 lakh women-led MSEs secured procurement exceeding ?28,000 crore.

Promoting Digital and Inclusive Governance

• GeM supports broader initiatives such as Digital India, Make in India, Aatmanirbhar Bharat, Vocal for Local and Ease of Doing Business.

• Initiatives such as SWAYATT, Womaniya, SARAS Collection and Startup Runway 2.0 facilitate the participation of startups, women entrepreneurs, rural SHGs and other smaller enterprises in public procurement.
• GeM Sahay further supports eligible proprietorship sellers by providing instant, collateral-free and paperless working-capital loans, helping them execute government orders.