Startups' registration at GeM more than doubled in the last one year: Official
Startups have fulfilled orders worth over Rs 1,800 crore through the marketplace, GeM CEO Talleen Kumar said, adding GeM is taking a number of steps so that more and more startups, MSMEs, artisans and weavers can register their goods and services on this platform.
The number of startups registered at public procurement portal GeM has more than doubled to 7,438 in the last one year and they are receiving many orders from government departments and public sector units, a senior official said.
The Government e-Marketplace (GeM) was launched in August 2016 for online purchase of goods and services by all the central government ministries and departments.
"We now have 48,038 buyers, 7.42 lakh sellers with 2.42 lakh MSEs (micro and small enterprises), 7,438 startups, 10,252 product categories, and 173 service categories. One year ago, we had 40,275 buyers, 2.98 lakh sellers, 59,536 MSMEs, and 3,509 startups," GeM CEO Talleen Kumar told PTI.
He said that providing increased market access to seller groups like startups, and MSMEs has reinforced the Make in India initiative.
Startups have fulfilled orders worth over Rs 1,800 crore through the marketplace, Kumar said, adding GeM is taking a number of steps so that more and more startups, MSMEs, artisans and weavers can register their goods and services on this platform.
"Presently, over 20,000 artisans and 1.2 lakh weavers have registered so far as sellers and are uploading products in their relevant categories," Kumar added.
About the steps taken for startups, he said the portal started a 'Startup Runway' so that these entrepreneurs can showcase their innovative products and solutions, and they can also list multiple products with minimal technical specifications.
Further, he said a new and advanced version of the platform will be launched soon which will have powerful features and availability of big ticket items to attract large buyers like PSUs, Railways, and Defence.
Earlier in August 2020, GeM announced its plan to roll out its advanced version in the next couple of months, which will be anchored in the unified procurement system to provide a single-user flow for government buyers according to a senior official.
Government e-Marketplace (GeM) CEO Talleen Kumar said that this system will consolidate all government procurement onto a single platform, leading to economies of scale, better price discovery and sharing of best practices.
(Disclaimer: Additional background information has been added to this PTI copy for context)
Edited by Kanishk Singh
