GeM outreach programme takes off in four states to spread awareness

A national outreach programme of the Government e-Marketplace (GeM) is currently on in Karnataka, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh to spread awareness about new features and functionalities of the portal and collect feedback.

The programme was launched on December 17 and will continue till February 17. It will cover all states and union territories, an official statement said on Tuesday.

GeM's senior officers are steering the programmes to facilitate on-boarding of local sellers on the marketplace while catering to specific requirements and procurement needs of buyers.

Arrangements for the outreach programmes including logistics are made by respective state governments.

State departments and organisations along with public sector enterprises have been using GeM for their buying needs. Sellers from the states are also benefitting through the access to national public procurement market using the portal, said the statement.

GeM has more than 15 lakh products, 20,000 services, three lakh registered sellers and service providers, and 40,000 government buyer organisations.

In its short journey of three years, GeM has processed more than 28 lakh orders worth Rs 40,000 crore in gross merchandise value out of which half has been transacted by micro, small and medium enterprises.