Government e-Marketplace (GeM) – (UPSC/RAS/PSI) Current Affairs {Economy}

GeM serves as India's single-window, end-to-end digital portal for Business-to-Government (B2G) public procurement, replacing manual and fragmented tendering systems.
Annual Growth Acceleration- Annual GMV grew from ₹422 crore in FY 2016–17 to over ₹5 lakh crore in each of FY 2024–25 and FY 2025–26.
Network Scale- Connects 1.37 lakh primary government buyer organizations with approximately 25.45 lakh profile-completed sellers and service providers.
Product & Service Diversity- Hosts over 10,660 product categories and 350 service categories.

Statutory Mandate (GFR Rule 149)- Rule 149 of the General Financial Rules (GFR), 2017 mandates government ministries and departments to procure goods and services available on GeM.
Paperless, Cashless & Contactless- Digitizes the complete procurement lifecycle—from seller registration, cataloguing, and e-bidding to online contract generation, order fulfillment, and e-payments.
Global Best-Practice Benchmarking- Modeled after international public procurement platforms (such as the US GSA and South Korea's KONEPS).
Defense Procurement Pillar- The Department of Military Affairs crossed ₹1.35 lakh crore in cumulative GMV, with defense spending accounting for 14.93% of GeM's total procurement.

Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning (AI/ML)- Deploys ML-based catalog validation and pre-sanity checks to reduce error rates and eliminate duplicate listings.
Cartel & Collusion Detection- Deploys advanced data analytics to monitor bidding patterns, flagging suspected collusive bidding, technical rejection anomalies, buyer-seller collusion, and order-splitting.
Bid Health Score & Transaction History- Provides buyers with business analytics including Last Purchase Price, Price Trends, and Past Transaction Summaries to prevent overpayment.
Interoperable Ecosystem Integrations-

CPPP (Central Public Procurement Portal)- Single access point for national tender information.
IREPS & DPPP Integration- Integrating Indian Railways (IREPS) and Defense (DPPP) procurement portals to establish a single, unified national procurement grid.

E. EPFO Integration- Verification of labor law compliance in manpower outsourcing services.

Micro & Small Enterprises (MSEs)- Over 12.25 lakh registered MSEs have executed orders worth ₹9.07 lakh crore, accounting for 45.6% of cumulative GMV (far exceeding the mandatory 25% target).
Women Entrepreneurs (Womaniya)- Over 2.24 lakh women-led MSEs have secured 50 lakh orders valued at over ₹99,147 crore.
SC/ST Enterprises- Orders fulfilled by SC/ST entrepreneurs crossed ₹6,000 crore annually, recording ~28% year-on-year growth.
Startups (Startup Runway 2.0)- Over 42,242 registered startups have secured procurement orders worth over ₹65,633 crore.
SWAYATT Initiative- Startups, Women & Youth Advantage through e-Transactions promotes market access for underserved communities.
SARAS Collection- Dedicated marketplace showcase allowing rural Self Help Groups (SHGs) under Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-NRLM to sell daily utility products directly to government buyers.
GeM Suvidha Kendras (CSC Partnership)- Establishing 50 pilot centers in partnership with Common Service Centres (CSC-SPV) to assist local artisans, weavers, and SC/ST vendors with cataloguing, registration, and grievance redressal.

GeMSahay App- Dedicated mobile platform partnered with financial institutions (e.g., Union Bank of India) offering instant, collateral-free working capital loans to proprietorship sellers based on POs, requiring no buyer consent.
Drastic Fee Reductions-

Transaction charges lowered from 0.50% to 0.30% (capped at ₹3 lakh max).
Orders up to ₹10 lakh are completely fee-exempt, ensuring 97% of total orders attract zero transaction fees.
Vendor assessment fees reduced by up to 92%.

Source: PIB