GeM considering a pilot scheme to sell products directly to consumers

The Government e-Marketplace (GeM) is considering a pilot scheme to allow small businesses and artisans to sell their products directly to consumers. Prashant Kumar Singh, the chief executive officer, said that preliminary discussions have begun, and the scheme could be implemented following approval from higher authorities. If feasible, GeM will do a small pilot in this area in the coming years.

GeM, a business-to-government platform, is an end-to-end e-marketplace that facilitates transparent and efficient e-procurement of goods and services needed by the Centre, states, and public sector undertakings.

Singh stressed that the intention is not to compete with e-commerce giants like Amazon or Flipkart. “Instead, the focus is on supporting and boosting businesses for small businesses and artisans. The idea is to get into areas that the big online players have not covered in a big way,” he said.

During 2023-24, goods and services worth over Rs 4 trillion were procured from the GeM portal, marking a 100 per cent increase compared to the previous financial year.

Singh highlighted that the procurement of services through the GeM portal has been a driving force behind this impressive GMV (gross merchandise value). “Nearly 50 per cent of this GMV has been attributed to the procurement of services, displaying a remarkable surge of 205 per cent in terms of services procured on GeM last financial year,” he said.