Goyal secures a deal with TCS to manage the GeM procurement portal

The government procurement platform GeM will be administered and maintained by TCS, the biggest software exporter from India, according to Monday’s announcement from Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal.

For all central government ministries and departments to make online purchases of products and services, the commerce ministry opened the Government e-Market (GeM) platform on August 9, 2016.

According to Goyal, the government is always looking for ways to improve the system.

And right now, we’re looking at a new deal. We are working to create a new system by the end of this year or the beginning of the next year that will be more current and contemporary.We’re attempting to add additional components for operational simplicity and provide data analytics to you (sellers and buyers) to aid in your purchasing selections.The contract (for it) has been awarded to TCS, he added.

The minister was addressing a gathering on GeM prizes at the time.

He said that using this platform for purchasing products and services by federal and state agencies also contributes to saving taxpayer money, which is then utilised for public welfare initiatives.

Goyal expressed optimism that this fiscal year, spending on products and services via the government site GeM will surpass Rs 3 lakh crore.

In 2022–2023, it exceeded Rs 2 lakh crore.

GeM CEO PK Singh announced that TCS has been awarded the contract to operate and maintain the platform for GeM.

During the previous three years, he said, there had been a “10x” increase in purchases via this platform.

According to Singh, “We are utilising the best technologies to increase the system’s effectiveness and efficiency.”

More than 62 lakh vendors and service providers are part of GeM, which includes over 63,000 government buyer entities and offers a broad variety of goods and services.

Currently, this site may be used for transactions by state governments, central armed police forces, government departments, ministries, and public sector organisations.

The site offers a broad variety of goods, from autos to office supplies. Among the most important product categories are those for cars, computers, and office furnishings.

The site includes services including webcasting, logistics, waste management, transportation, and analysis.

The biggest such platform worldwide is KONEPS, which is based in South Korea.

At the moment, GeM is in second place.