Introduction

Currently, registration of cooperatives as buyers is not under the current mandate of GeM. This move will help more than 8.54 million registered cooperatives and their 27 million members to get products from the GeM portal at competitive prices.

The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved a proposal to expand the mandate of the government e-market (GeM) by allowing cooperatives to bid.

Currently, registration of cooperatives as buyers is not under the current mandate of GeM.

The move will help more than 8.54 million registered cooperatives and their 27 million members as they will get products from the GeM portal at competitive prices.

These cooperatives will benefit from this decision, Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur told reporters.

Under the current mandate, goods and services registered on the GeM portal are not available to private-sector buyers. Suppliers (vendors) can be from all segments - public or private sector.

The decision was taken by the government headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Ministry of Commerce launched GeM on August 9, 2016, to create an open and transparent procurement platform for public buyers.

Currently, the platform is open to all government buyers - Central and State Ministries, Departments, Public Sector Undertakings, Autonomous Bodies, and Local Bodies.

If cooperatives can register as buyers in GeM, it would help cooperatives get competitive prices through an open and transparent process.

The Ministry of Cooperation, in consultation with the special purpose vehicle (SPV) of GeM, decides on the validated list of cooperatives to merge with GeM - for a pilot and then expansion.

This ensures that the technical capabilities and logistical requirements of the GeM system are considered when deciding whether to accept cooperatives as GeM buyers.

GeM provides cooperatives with a dedicated registration process, and technical infrastructure to support additional users on existing portals, and helps cooperatives register and transact through existing contact centers, training, and other support services.

The Ministry of Cooperation will provide necessary advice to encourage cooperatives to use the GeM platform for the procurement of goods and services to benefit from greater transparency, efficiency, and competitive pricing.

To protect the interests of the wider GeM sales community and ensure timely payments, GeM decides the payment system practices in cooperation with the Ministry of Cooperation.

GeM will initiate appropriate measures, including building necessary functions and features in the GeM portal, upgrading infrastructure, strengthening the helpdesk and training ecosystem, and connecting cooperatives.

The general pace and mechanism of implementation are decided by the Ministry of Cooperation.

Milestones and target dates are aligned between the Ministry and GeM.

The Ministry wanted cooperatives to procure goods and services from GeM as it has already developed enough as a single portal to facilitate online procurement.

In addition, since the cooperatives have more than 27 million members, buying through GeM would benefit the common man not only financially but also the credibility of the cooperatives.

While GeM SPV will continue to use its current platform and organization to support the proposed expanded mandate, it may require investment in additional technology infrastructure and training and support resources.

To cover these additional costs, GeM can demand from the cooperatives a corresponding transaction fee, which is decided in agreement with the Cooperation Ministry.

Such fees shall not exceed the fees GeM would charge other public purchasers.

It is planned to ensure the self-sufficiency of GeM's activity, and therefore significant financial effects on the government are not expected.