 "Uttar Pradesh govt top buyer of goods and services from GeM portal in FY23")
Uttar Pradesh emerged as the largest buyer of goods and services among all states and Union Territories from government portal GeM in 2022-23, according to the central government data.
The Uttar Pradesh government and its agencies procured goods and services worth Rs 12,152 crore from the union commerce ministry's platform Government e-marketplace (GeM) during last fiscal year, the data showed.
It was followed by Gujarat (Rs 7,964 crore) , Maharashtra (Rs 4,130 crore), Jammu and Kashmir (Rs 1,999 crore) and Madhya Pradesh (Rs 1,983 crore).
Overall procurement of goods and services from GeM has crossed Rs 2 lakh crore this fiscal year on account of an increase in buying activities by different ministries, departments and states.
The GeM portal was launched on August 9, 2016 for online purchases of goods and services by all the central government ministries and departments.
GeM has over 63,000 government buyer organisations, over 6 crore sellers and service providers offering a wide range of products and services.
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Currently, government departments, ministries, public sector units, state governments, and central armed police forces are allowed to carry out transactions through this portal. The portal provides a wide range of products from office stationery to vehicles.
Automobiles, computers and office furniture are some of the major product categories. Services, including transportation, logistics, waste management, web casting and analytical, are also listed on the portal.
Among central government ministries, the power ministry was the top buyer in 2022-23 from the platform. The ministry procured goods and services worth Rs 30,572.9 crore . It was followed by the defence ministry (Rs 28,741.2 crore), Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (Rs 28,157.2 crore), steel ministry (Rs 12,527.3 crore), and Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (Rs 7,158.3 crore).
South Korea's KONEPS is the largest such platform in the world. Currently, GeM stands at the third position after Singapore's GeBIZ.