GeM touches annual procurement of Rs 1 lakh crore in FY 2021-22
Author: BI Bureau
New Delhi: The Government e-Marketplace (GeM) has attained an annual procurement of Rs 1 lakh crore within FY 2021-22. This represents a 160 per cent growth as compared to last financial year (FY). According to Prashant Kumar Singh, CEO, GeM, since the inception the cumulative gross merchandize value (GMV) reached Rs 1 lakh crore in over four and a half years on March 23, 2021, whereas the GMV of GeM in the current financial year surpassed Rs 1 lakh crore in less than a year. This represents a 160 per cent.
Singh said that the portal had transformed public procurement in India by driving its three pillars -- inclusion, usability and transparency and efficiency and cost saving. The number of orders has also surpassed 31.5 lakh in the current financial year with a growth at the rate of 22 per cent. In a short span of five years, GeM has become one of the biggest government e-procurement platforms in the world.
Referring to the share of Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs), Singh said that approximately Rs 43,000 crore worth procurement was done by CPSEs on GeM, showing an approximate growth of 508 per cent as compared to last FY. Highlighting the role played by GeM in ushering in inclusion in government procurement, Singh said that GeM has taken a host of steps to onboard products of SHGs, tribal communities, craftsmen, weavers, and MSMEs.
It may be noted that procurement from MSEs is at 57 per cent of the total GMV currently with a growth of 143 per cent as compared to last FY. There is a 15 per cent increase in buyers on boarding as compared to last FY and there is a 187 per cent increase in sellers on boarding as compared to last FY. There is also a 44 per cent increase in the number of services as compared to last FY with a 25 per cent contribution in the total GMV of Rs 25,000 crore.
According to an independent assessment made by the World Bank, average savings for buyers in GeM portal is about 9.75 per cent of the median price. Since inception GeM has shown impressive growth year on year with better prices, thus helping the state exchequer save substantial money. In an analysis in the Economic Survey 2021-22, cost comparison of various commodities on GeM with those of popular online platforms such as Amazon and Flipkart showed that GeM prices were 9.5 per cent lower.
GeM SAHAY is an initiative to facilitate small sellers to avail credit financing from various integrated lenders for the orders received on GeM portal. The forward auction module has been launched facilitating government Auctioneers to auction assets using multiple auction modes and monitor the complete selling life cycle of their assets. /BI/
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The exports of agricultural commodities from March to June 2020 shot up by 23.24 percent on-year to Rs 25,552.7 crores.
As the economy comes to a standstill amid the coronavirus-led lockdown, India’s agriculture sector has taken the baton of economic growth in its hands. The exports of agricultural commodities from March to June 2020 shot up by 23.24 percent on-year to Rs 25,552.7 crores, according to the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare. The government said that self-reliant agriculture is critical for the goal of an Atmanirbhar Bharat and for this, agricultural export is extremely important as besides earning foreign exchange for the country, the exports help farmers, producers, and exporters to take advantage of the wider international market and increase their income.
The surge in exports has also resulted in increased production in the farm sector by increasing coverage area and productivity. The share of India’s agricultural exports and imports in the world agriculture trade in 2017 was 2.27 percent and 1.90 percent, respectively. Even during the difficult time of pandemic lockdown, India took care not to disturb the world food supply chain and continued to export, the government said.
Ministry of Agriculture has prepared a comprehensive action plan for the promotion of Agri trade; the twofold approach focuses on boosting Agri Export with emphasis on value addition and action plan for Import Substitution. Recently, the Agriculture sector has witnessed a series of reforms, giving more choices to the farmers to sell their produce at competitive rates.
To mention a few, the Export strategy focuses on the export promotion of fast-evolving niche markets of Wellness food/ Health-conscious food/nutraceuticals, Development of “Brand India” in campaign mode to help penetration into new foreign markets and of new products which automatically translates into higher value realization, Gulf countries have been identified as focus destination to increase the market share which is a strong market for India though presently India caters to only 10-12% share of their total imports. A product-market matrix has been made containing a list of products of strength that could be expanded in new geographies and a list of known markets which can be introduced with newer products.
At the behest of the Department of Agricultural Cooperation & Farmers’ Welfare, Ministry of Agriculture, product-specific Export Promotion Forums have been created to lead Agri exports to new heights. Each Export Promotion Forum shall be having exporters of the related commodity as its members along with official members representing concerned Ministries/Departments of the Central and State Governments. Chairman APEDA shall be the chairman of each of these forums. The forums will meet at least once every two months, to discuss recommendations on issues pertaining to the export.
The recommendations of the forum will be placed in the product committee / Authority of APEDA. The Forum will keep in close contact with the concerned organization of the Ministry of Agriculture such as MIDH, Extension, NPPO, etc., DGFT, Ministry of Civil Aviation, MoFPI, etc. to further the interest of agricultural export.
