GANGTOK: The Government of Sikkim and Government e Marketplace (GeM) under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India, signed a Memorandum of Understanding on October 24. Under this MoU, both signatories will work towards increasing adoption of GeM amongst the Government of Sikkim Buyer Departments for public procurement of goods and services.
A press release informs that GeM is the one-stop online platform for the procurement of goods and services for all Central Government, Central Public Sector Undertakings (CPSUs), State Government and all affiliated departments, including buyers from Cooperatives. GeM has brought about a paradigm change in public procurement using technology and endeavours to make the public procurement process efficient, transparent, and inclusive.
In the Financial Year 2023-24, procurement of goods and services through GeM surpassed the Rs. 4 lakh crore mark, which is a remarkable achievement.
GeM is taking concerted efforts towards facilitating various States to enhance procurement through the portal, with an intent to onboard all state buyers and local sellers. GeM has deployed a team of consultants, officers, and business facilitators to increase the adoption of GeM among State Government buyers.
The signing of the MoU between Government of Sikkim and GeM is a significant milestone for GeM’s association with various State Governments as a facilitator for public procurement of goods and services in an efficient, transparent, and inclusive manner. With the signing of this MoU, GeM has achieved its coverage of all the States and UTs of India, the release mentions.
From the GeM side, the MoU was signed by AV Muralidharan, Chief Buyer Officer (States and UTs), GeM, while the Government of Sikkim was represented by Tarun Kumar Sharma, Chief Accounts Officer of the Home Department, Government of Sikkim.
The MoU signing ceremony was presided over by Ms Tashi Cho Cho, Secretary, Home Department, Government of Sikkim.
Amardeep Gupta, Director and GeM Nodal Officer for Sikkim, Shri Ashutosh Kumar, Deputy Director (States), GeM, and Enosh Kumar, GeM consultant for Sikkim, were also present on the occasion.
As of 23rd Oct, buyers from Government of Sikkim have done procurement worth Rs. 90 crore. By means of signing of this MoU, GeM will further facilitate State buyers’ departments/organisations by providing focused training, handholding, capacity-building programs, etc.
Transparency and inclusivity have been greatly improved in the procurement process through the GeM portal, resulting in significant cost savings for the State Governments. Being the unified portal with the presence of marketplace and reverse auction functionality, GeM is more than just a tender publication portal and provides an end-to-end procurement solution such as direct purchase, L1 purchase (similar to a three quotation-based system), bidding, reverse auction, etc.
There are 3,078 Sikkim-based sellers currently onboarded on the GeM portal. Of these, 2720 sellers are registered as “Micro” sellers. Through the GeM portal, Sikkim-based sellers have access to bids floated by buying entities from Central Government, Sikkim State, Other State Governments, CPSE, etc. and have served orders worth Rs 182 crore, the release mentions.
Going forward, GeM will conduct a seller onboarding program in collaboration with the MSME Department, Government of Sikkim, for onboarding additional sellers on the GeM portal, thereby increasing their penetration on GeM.
- SA Report
