Kochi : October 06, 2023

 

GeM (Government E Marketplace), India’s national public procurement portal for goods and services has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Kerala Small Scale Industries Association - KSSIA to jointly enhance the GeM seller base in Kerala. The MoU was signed in a function held at KSSIA Bhavan in Kalamassery today.

This MoU is intended to support the efforts of GeM to onboard more sellers from Kerala on GeM portal and KSSIA’s effort to promote participation of their members in procurement through GeM. The MoU will help to collaborate and jointly run capacity-building workshops and training programs pertaining to GeM, which will benefit small-scale industries in Kerala.

This partnership will also help to collaborate on initiatives of national importance, such as Make in India, Start-up India, etc. The MOU outlines the commitments and collaborative efforts of both parties to promote transparency, efficiency and inclusivity in public procurement processes. The partnership between GeM and KSSIA holds immense potential for growth and development in the small industry sector in Kerala.

Shri Prakash Mirani, Additional CEO, Government e Marketplace, Shri A V Muralidharan, Deputy CEO, Government e Marketplace, Shri A Nizarudeen, State President, KSSIA and Shri PJ Jose, General Secretary, KSSIA were present in the function .

GeM caters to the diverse procurement needs of goods and services for all Central Government and State Government Ministries, Departments, Public Sector Units (PSUs) and affiliated organisations. KSSIA is the apex MSME association in Kerala for the promotion and welfare of the MSME units in Kerala. KSSIA has 14 units, one in every Revenue District of Kerala with nearly 12,000 direct unit holders in its membership folder and nearly 4000 indirect members.  

Kerala Government organizations have made cumulative procurement worth Rs 1500 crore since 2016, when the GeM portal was launched. The last 2 financial years (21-22 & 22-23) have contributed close to Rs 850 crore. Kerala has more than 2500 active sellers who have uploaded catalogues on GeM Portal and secured orders. Kerala-based sellers have secured orders worth more than Rs 800 Crores. Recognizing this potential for collaboration, the GeM is signing the MoU to spearhead a strategic partnership with KSSIA.

(Release ID: 1965008)