The commerce ministry is looking to appoint a service provider for design, development, implementation, operation and maintenance of Government e-Marketplace (GeM). The ministry last year launched the 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, estimated at Rs 10,000 crore a year. The Directorate General of Supplies and Disposals (DGS&D), under the ministry, has invited online bids “for selecting a managed service provider for design, development, implementation, operation and maintenance of GeM”.
The move assumes significance as the government has recently made it mandatory for all departments and ministries to source goods and services from its e-marketplace. Currently, over 9,000 products from 250 categories, including computers, stationery and several services, are registered by different vendors on the portal.
The DGS&D is also working on increasing the number of services by including areas like cleaning, plumbing and digitisation of records. The DGS&D, which is under the commerce ministry, has developed the portal.
E-commerce is a fast-growing industry in the country. According to a study, the e-commerce market is likely to grow 10-fold in the next five years to reach USD 100 billion on the back of increasing penetration of Internet, smartphones and spread of digital network in rural areas.