G. Subramanian
Mumbai: As part of the government’s mission to reach out to the last mile. The e-Marketplace (GeM), a national public procurement portal in the country enables an end-to-end online Marketplace for the procurement of goods and services at a single point. The portal was launched on August 9, 2016, as part of the vision of the Hon’ble Prime Minister Narendra Modi for redefining public procurement.
Press Information Bureau Mumbai in association with GeM organised a GeM seller Samvad to share the success stories and issues and challenges faced by the seller.
A number of Government e-Marketplace vendors shared their experiences in GeM Seller Samvad held in Mumbai today. This gave an opportunity to the GeM sellers to learn about the new GeM features and functionalities that further make it conducive for them to operate on the portal. GeM’s Business Facilitator for Maharashtra and Daman and Diu Nikhil Patil informed us that the GeM portal is not only limited to Central Government offices. It provides a one-stop online procurement portal for all Government Buyers including Central/State Ministries, Departments, Bodies & PSUs. All states (except Sikkim) have entered into an MoU with GeM, thereby facilitating businesses from all around the country to do business with Government departments located all over India, even in remote corners. Maharashtra state entered into an agreement with GeM in March 2018, informed Nikhil Patil. 
There were many successful sellers who have shared their experiences over the period of time pre GeM and after the implementation of GeM.
Hitesh Patel, proprietor of Milan Stationers and Printers says “My volume of business has increased ever since I registered in GeM in 2017. Earlier, I could supply items only in the vicinity of my shop in the Fort area and only within Mumbai. Now, I ship my products all over the country! I have tied up with India Post and three private courier service providers who pick up items from my shop and deliver in due time”, a firm registered with GeM.
Umesh Nair, Manager of Joseph Leslie Dynamics Manufacturing Pvt. Ltd – a fire safety equipment provider said that they got a total of 30 crore orders through GeM so far! “GeM has drastically reduced the cost of doing business, especially in reducing the need for travel in meeting prospective buyers. We are an MSME company and hence we get benefits for MSME vendors as provided by the portal. GeM is a very good platform, highly beneficial for a small company like ours”.
Ketan Choudhary, who represents MSME firm Omkar Enterprise stated that GeM has helped their business to grow. They registered with GeM in the year 2020 and started selling printers and toners. Now, they are selling computers and laptops also! “GeM helps small businesses like ours to grow”, he commented.
In his presentation, Patil highlighted the advantages for SMEs in doing business in the GeM portal. MSEs, especially sole proprietors on GeM can now get a loan at the point of acceptance of an order on the GeM platform. Approximately 2,000 minor and 460+ major functionalities have been introduced on GeM, in the last 24 months for increasing the ease of doing business.
The Seller Samvad was also attended by Nishant Deengawal, Director – States and Union Territories (GeM) and Nodal Officer of GeM in Maharashtra. Deputy Director of Press Information Bureau, Mumbai Regional Office, Dheep Joy Mampilly was also present on the occasion.
