GeM to be used by Rajasthan Government for the procurement of goods and services

“An endeavour of state finance department that procurement processes are made more transparent, efficient and client friendly”– Naveen Mahajan, Secretary FinanceThe Rajasthan government is all set and has joined the Centre in carrying out procurement of goods and services for the government departments through online portal ‘Government e-Marketplace’ (GeM) in this coming GST regime.

GeM – a technology – driven platform, helps in the obtainment of goods and services by various ministries, departments and agencies of the government. Under this, suppliers willing to do businesses with the government can register and participate in bidding which would be online.

It is an initiative of Union government, where states were asked for its implication in accordance to their feasibility. Rajasthan along with Madhya Pradesh were the only states that showed interest in the project. Taking the process forward, the finance department on Monday issued a notification for procurements through GeM.

“It is an endeavour of state finance department that procurement processes are made more transparent, efficient and client friendly. The decision of government to allow procurement through GeM is a step in that direction,” said Naveen Mahajan, secretary finance (budget).

GeM eliminates the human interference in the vendor registration, order placement and payment processing to a great extent. Being an open platform, GeM offers no entry barriers to bona fide suppliers who wish to do business with the government.

According to the officials, one of the biggest advantages of GeM will be in bringing down the prices, resulting in huge savings for the government.

“Anyone sitting anywhere in the country could participate in the bidding process. It will break monopoly of local vendors and encourage suppliers to give best competitive prices. For the work-related department and those going for bulk purchases, it will save a lot of money,” added the official.

However, unlike the Centre, Rajasthan government has not made GeM mandatory for the departments. Officials claim that when enough vendors get registered and department gains confidence, it might become mandatory in Rajasthan too.