Govt, original equipment manufacturers to tackle fraud on purchase portal

The total value of orders placed on the portal stands at Rs153 billion, made through more than one million separate orderS

After repeated allegations of counterfeit goods being sold through the national procurement portal, the government has now teamed up with original equipment manufacturers (OEMS) to tackle the issue.

Counterfeit computer hardware and information technology-related items top the list of products where complaints have piled up on the government e-marketplace (GeM). 

Since last year, the government has mandated that all public sector agencies at the Centre and states directly purchase common-use goods and services on the GeM platform. 

Sellers have to register on the platform and compete with others in an open-market model. Inaugurated in August 2016, the portal has repeatedly