The Government e-Marketplace (GeM) completed 10 years of operations on 9 August 2026. At the 10th Foundation Day at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal called for a new, user-friendly and AI-enabled platform to make public procurement more efficient, cost-effective, transparent and competitive.
Goyal said the platform would help buyers and sellers make more intelligent use of the procurement process and the latest technologies. A customised My Stamp and a five-digit Helpdesk short code, 14550, were also launched at the event.
GeM was launched on 9 August 2016 under the Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce and Industry. It has grown from a digital marketplace into a unified public procurement platform. GeM SPV, a 100% government-owned Section 8 not-for-profit company, operates and maintains it.
The platform is designed to make procurement paperless, cashless and contactless. Its users include Central and State Ministries, Departments, PSUs, autonomous bodies, local bodies, panchayats and cooperatives. It digitises the whole lifecycle, from seller registration, listing and bidding to contract award, order fulfilment and payment. Buyers can choose direct purchase, comparison, electronic bidding or reverse auctions.
GeM is being integrated with the Central Public Procurement Portal (CPPP), the Indian Railway Electronic Procurement System (IREPS) and the Defence Public Procurement Portal (DPPP). The Department of Military Affairs had crossed ₹1.35 lakh crore in cumulative Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) as of 6 August 2026.
GeM has more than 25 lakh sellers and service providers and over 1.37 lakh buyer organisations. Cumulative procurement is above ₹20 lakh crore through more than 3.78 crore orders, across over 10,660 product categories and 350 service categories.
The platform has 12.28 lakh micro and small enterprises (MSEs), which have fulfilled orders worth over ₹9 lakh crore, or 45.6 per cent of cumulative GMV. In 2025-26, more than 11 lakh registered MSEs executed over 51 lakh orders worth more than ₹2.36 lakh crore.
More than 2.24 lakh women-led MSEs have fulfilled over 50 lakh orders valued at over ₹1 lakh crore. Some 42,242 startups have secured orders worth over ₹65,633 crore. Procurement from SC/ST enterprises exceeded ₹6,000 crore, with nearly 28% annual growth, while startup procurement grew over 36% annually.
Digital records, automated workflows and real-time monitoring improve accountability and reduce discretion, according to the ministry. Tools such as the GeM Availability Report, Past Transaction Summary, Last Purchase Price and price-trend analytics help buyers decide cost-effectively.
For sellers, Rate Contracts for recurring procurement and the removal of Caution Money requirements have reduced compliance burdens. GeM Sahay lets eligible proprietorship sellers obtain instant, collateral-free, paperless working-capital loans without buyer consent.
SWAYATT (Startups, Women & Youth Advantage through e-Transactions) promotes participation of startups, women entrepreneurs, MSEs and self-help groups. Womaniya serves women entrepreneurs and SHGs, SARAS Collection serves rural SHGs, and Startup Runway 2.0 serves startups. GeM has also worked with UN Women on women-led enterprises.
The ministry listed five priorities:
GeM CEO Mihir Kumar said what defines GeM is the spirit of continuous improvement as much as the scale achieved. The ministry said the focus is shifting from expanding the platform to multiplying its impact.
In April 2025, GeM partnered with IN-SPACe for space-tech procurement and with Drone Federation India for drone procurement. Partnerships with the Arun Jaitley National Institute of Financial Management, CareEdge Ratings, the National Centre for Good Governance and the Indian Institute of Public Administration support training, research and policy development. Integration with the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) strengthens compliance in manpower outsourcing services.
With reference to the Government e-Marketplace (GeM), consider the following statements:
Which of the statements given above are correct?
Consider the following pairs:
Initiative / Tool : Description
How many of the pairs given above are correctly matched?
Which one of the following statements about the Government e-Marketplace (GeM) is not correct?
