UP seeks to double govt e-marketplace procurement to Rs 5,000 cr in FY20

The state, which is among the top buyers on the e-marketplace, signs MoU with SBI to set up payment gateway and GeM manage pool account

Uttar Pradesh government is targetting gross merchandise value (GMV) of almost Rs 5,000 crore on GeM (Government e-Marketplace) platform during the current fiscal.

This would be a growth of nearly 100 per cent over the GMV clocked by UP last year, of nearly Rs 2,500 crore.

A central government initiative, GeM is an end-to-end e-market, where common user goods and services can be procured by various government organisations, including ministries, departments, public sector undertakings (PSU) and autonomous bodies.

“There is lot of potential for GeM in UP and we are confident the state would hit GMV of almost Rs 5,000 crore by the end of March 2020,” UP micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) and export promotion secretary Bhuvnesh Kumar told Business Standard here this evening.

The UP government today signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with public sector State Bank of India (SBI), which will now facilitate the payment gateway for procurement in the state and manage the GeM pool account.

Although the Yogi Adityanath government had announced it was adopting GeM in August 2017, it was not until March 2018 that actual procurement could begin on the platform, post registration of sellers and completion of formalities.

“Since March 2018, UP has logged total GMV of Rs 2,617 crore on GeM with the total number of orders standing at more than 115,000,” Kumar informed.

He claimed the GVM of UP stood highest among all the Indian states, although the state trailed top ranked Delhi in terms of the number of orders placed via GeM. UP, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh are among the largest buyers on the platform.

“The CM has already issued general instructions to ensuring cent percent procurement through GeM, and pursuing e-tendering only in case of such goods and services, which are not available on the portal,” he told the media at the MoU signing ceremony.

Kumar said GeM procurement would not only ensure transparency, but also help the MSMEs in getting timely payment without hassles. “GeM procurement has helped the state government save to the tune of 20-30% so far which is substantial in terms of the tax payers’ money saved.”

Meanwhile, during 2018-19, GeM had grossed Rs 23,000 crore in GMV through 1.7 million transactions over its platform pan India. GeM reported 4-fold increase in total value of transactions and doubling of sellers on the e-marketplace.

Besides, there have been growth in other verticals as well, viz. number of categories, products and buyers. Interestingly, average rejection rate of supplies kept below 1%, indicating high quality of products and services.

In fact, the procurement by all states on GeM has exceeded the value clocked by the central government. Procurement by states on GeM hit Rs 9,200 crore against Rs 7,947 crore by the Centre last fiscal.