Union Minister Piyush Goyal along with Minister of State of Commerce and Industry, Som Parkash, inaugurated the 3rd edition of National Public Procurement Conclave in New Delhi on Thursday. The two-day conclave has been organized by Government e-Marketplace (GeM) in association with Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).
GeM epitomizes the speed, skill and scale which is essential in an e-marketplace platform said Piyush Goyal in his inaugural address. He further said that GeM rests on the three pillars of openness, fairness and inclusiveness and is a symbol of a truly transparent e-marketplace.
Commerce and Industry Minister hoped that during this conclave a road map for the future of GeM will be put in place that will unify all government procurement, across all Ministries and Departments, of not only Government of India but State Governments and local bodies. He also hoped that during the two-day deliberations an actionable agenda will emerge that will facilitate work contracts in the form of tenders to be made available on the GeM portal in future. Further, he urged that, in order to take the GeM portal to the next level, it may be examined how to facilitate purchase from the GeM platform by contractors and sub-contractors of public sector undertakings, Ministries and Departments.
Commerce and Industry Minister hoped that the target of 5 lakh crore business through the GeM platform is achieved earlier than five years and in the future GeM will also be open for the citizens of India to procure their necessities so that the common man may benefit from lower cost of products and services that are available on GeM. However, Goyal cautioned that quality of products and services must never be compromised, and stringent mechanism be put in place for validation of complaints against poor quality of products and services that may be available on the platform.
He welcomed all suggestions, from thousands of registered organizations for the two-day conclave, to make improvements in the GeM platform particularly in the process of accessing, onboarding and navigating through the platform, so that it leads to more transparency and availability of better quality of products and services. This will enable MSMEs, women entrepreneurs and the smallest of enterprises in the remotest corner of India to onboard products and services on GeM and it will also create a level playing field that promotes fair business practices and genuine competition among buyers.
GeM awards were also given away during the inaugural session. Awards were given to Central Ministries, States and PSUs in categories of super buyer, rising buyer and most compliant buyer (payments). Sellers were also awarded under super seller, seller with most orders, super seller (MSME), seller with most orders (MSME) and most promising startup categories.
