 "E-commerce")
Procurement of goods and services from government portal GeM is expected to cross Rs 2 lakh crore during this fiscal year on account of an increase in buying activities by different ministries and departments, a top official said on Wednesday.
The procurement crossed Rs 1.5 lakh crore on February 1.
CEO of the Government e-Market (GeM) P K Singh said huge potential is there in states and public sector undertakings to increase the buying from the platform.
"After crossing Rs 1.5 lakh crore, we are aspiring for Rs 2 lakh crore for the full fiscal," Singh told reporters here.
The portal was launched on August 9, 2016, for online purchases of goods and services by all the central government ministries and departments.
He said the portal has over 66,000 government buyer organisations and more than 58 lakh sellers and service providers offering a diverse range of goods and services.
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He added that through automation and digitisation of processes, GeM has led to higher process efficiencies, better information sharing, improved transparency, reduced process cycle times, and a higher level of trust among bidders, which in turn have resulted in greater competition and higher savings.
"We need to tap states..we are continuously in discussions with them. There are huge benefits to onboard the platform," Singh said adding central public sector enterprises account for about 50 per cent of the total procurement happening at the platform.
The portal provides a wide range of products from office stationery to vehicles.
South Korea's KONEPS is the largest such platform in the world. Currently, GeM stands at the third position after Singapore's GeBIZ.
Singh had earlier exuded confidence that the GeM platform is growing at a faster pace and it would surpass GeBIZ this year.
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