Kochi: Kerala has marked a strong presence in the Government e-marketplace (GeM) and public Procurement Portal for procurement of goods and services for all Central Government and State Government Ministries, Departments, Public Sector Units (PSUs) and affiliated, of the country.

To date, approximately 36,800 individuals, including traders and service providers, have registered on the portal. This is an increase of 50 per cent over the previous year. Out of this, more than 21,500 entrepreneurs are from the MSME sector. The portal provides many opportunities for MSME entrepreneurs.

A total of 98,000 orders have been received since the portal was launched. Various departments of the state government have procured products and services worth Rs 2,500 crore through this portal. Of this, Rs 596.59 crore was procured in the last financial year alone. This is an increase of 11 per cent over the previous year. The Home Department has made the most procurements through the portal.

The most progress is being made in Ernakulam district. Meanwhile, a transaction value of Rs 13.4 lakh crore has been made in the country so far with a total of over 2.8 crore orders. 61 per cent of the orders placed through the portal in the last financial year were in the service sector. While 7,045 orders were received daily in 2020-21, 20,028 orders were received daily in the last financial year alone, said GeM Deputy CEO A V Muraleedharan.

Registration on the portal is free. Goods are purchased through the portal at competitive rates. The speciality of the portal is that orders worth up to Rs. 10 lakhs get a discount on transaction fees.

GeM and its purpose

GeM is a public procurement portal launched in 2016 for central and state government establishments. It includes women entrepreneurs, self-help groups, micro, small and medium enterprises, startups, resellers and large companies and associations. They procure various goods and services through the portal. Orders above Rs 10 lakh will be through e-auction. Customers will also get help in local languages. Private companies will not be able to buy products through this.