The Government of Sikkim and Government e Marketplace (GeM) under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in Gangtok, Sikkim today, to work towards increasing adoption of GeM amongst the Government of Sikkim buyer departments for public procurement of goods and services. The signing of the MoU between the Government of Sikkim and GeM is a significant milestone for GeM’s association with various State Governments as a facilitator for public procurement of goods and services in an efficient, transparent, and inclusive manner. With the signing of this MoU, GeM has achieved its coverage of all the States and UTs of India.

The MoU signing ceremony was presided over by Chief Secretary, Government of Sikkim, Shri Vijay Bhushan Pathak, IAS.From the GeM side, the MoU was signed by Chief Buyer Officer (States and UTs),  Shri A.V. Muralidharan, while the Government of Sikkim was represented by Chief Accounts Officer of the Home Department, Government of Sikkim Shri Tarun Kumar Sharma.Director and GeM Nodal Officer for Sikkim,Shri Amardeep Gupta, Deputy Director (States), GeM Shri Ashutosh Kumar, and Shri Enosh Kumar, GeM consultant for Sikkim, were also present on the occasion.

As of 23rd Oct 2024, buyers from Government of Sikkim have done procurement worth approximately ₹ 90 crore. By means of signing of this MoU, GeM will further facilitate State buyers’ departments/organisations by providing focused training, handholding, capacity-building programs, etc.

There are 3,078 Sikkim-based sellers currently onboarded on the GeM portal. Of these,  2720 sellers are registered as “Micro” sellers. Through the GeM portal, Sikkim-based sellers have access to bids floated by buying entities from the Central Government, Sikkim State, Other State Governments, CPSE, etc. and have served orders worth ₹ 182 crore. Going forward, GeM will conduct a seller onboarding program in collaboration with the MSME Department,  Government of Sikkim, for onboarding additional sellers on the GeM portal, thereby increasing their penetration on GeM.

GeM is the one-stop online platform for the procurement of goods and services for all Central Government, Central Public Sector Undertakings (CPSUs), State Government and all affiliated departments, including buyers from Cooperatives. GeM has brought about a paradigm change in public procurement using technology and endeavours to make the public procurement process efficient, transparent, and inclusive. In the Financial Year 2023-24, procurement of goods and services through GeM surpassed the ₹ 4 lakh crore mark, which is a remarkable achievement. With the support and trust of its most important stakeholders—government buyers and sellers—GeM is comfortably placed to achieve significantly higher procurement figures for FY 2024-2025.

GeM is taking concerted efforts towards facilitating various States to enhance procurement through the portal, with an intent to onboard all state buyers and local sellers. GeM has deployed a team of consultants, officers, and business facilitators to increase the adoption of GeM among State Government buyers.

Transparency and inclusivity have been greatly improved in the procurement process through the GeM portal, resulting in significant cost savings for the State Governments. Being the unified portal with the presence of marketplace and reverse auction functionality, GeM is more than just a tender publication portal and provides an end-to-end procurement solution such as direct purchase, L1 purchase (similar to a three quotation-based system), bidding, reverse auction, etc.

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