TCS bags contract to redesign, build new version of govt's GeM portal

IT major Tata Consultancy Services on Tuesday said it has bagged a contract from the government to redesign and build a new version of public procurement platform Government e-Marketplace (GeM).

The GeM platform provides an end-to-end online marketplace for the central and state government bodies, including public sector undertakings, for procurement of common-use goods and services in a transparent and efficient manner.

GeM CEO P K Singh said in its next avatar, GeM is envisioned to be an all-inclusive platform for government procurement, offering improved ease of doing business and transparency.

"With TCS as our system integration partner, we are assured of architecting the new GeM with unmatched experience, rigour, and passion to develop a world-class solution," Singh said.

The Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) of GeM is over Rs 2 lakh crore purchased by 70,000 buyer organisations from more than 65 lakh sellers and service providers, including over 8 lakh medium and small enterprises, TCS said in a statement.

TCS will leverage new technologies like cloud neutrality and interoperability while maintaining the current platform and basing the new GeM platform on multilingual and open source-based architecture.

"The new GeM platform will be based on e-commerce and e-marketplace principles with multi-tenancy, multi-rule, multilingual, open source, and open-API-based architecture. It will be highly scalable, designed to accommodate the anticipated six-fold growth in GMV over the next six years," the statement said.

"The new platform will deploy data analytics to forecast projections and improve supply chain management, and advanced artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies to help identify potential fraud, enabling more transparent operations," the statement said.