Public procurement portal, CII sign MoU to create awareness

Public procurement portal GeM and industry body CII have inked a pact to create awareness about online purchase of goods and services by government agencies and departments, the Commerce Ministry said today.
"This MoU between GeM and CII is aimed at establishing GeM Samvaad- a participative and collaborative approach with the industry for promoting Indian industry and entrepreneurship," it said in a statement.
As part of this initiative, both would work together to create GeM related awareness.
It would also establish a 'GeM-Industry Forum' for collaboration with the domestic industry for seeking inputs on technical specifications of products and service-level agreement of services to be procured by government agencies.

The MoU was signed in the presence of Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, the ministry said.
The ministry last year launched GeM for online purchase of goods and services by various central government ministries and departments. The move is aimed at bringing in more transparency and streamlining government procurement.

In a separate statement, Sitharaman said export credit agency (ECA) and ECGC's role have become important in the times of volatility and instability with global risks hampering the global trade and financial systems.
Export Credit Guarantee Corporation of India (ECGC) gave a dividend of Rs 72.50 crore for 2016-17.
The ministry said that the net worth of the company rose to Rs 3,619 crore and the investment amount was Rs 8,025 crore.

ECGC offers 20 products and services; 12,000 covers to exporters. MSME consists of 85 per cent of the customer base of the corporation.
"ECGC has been a pioneer in providing cover to banks who lend to exporters. This ensures that export opportunities are not lost for want of adequate and timely finance," it added.