GeM 10th Anniversary: Platform Achievements and Future Priorities
The Government e Marketplace (GeM) celebrated its 10th foundation day at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi, with Union Commerce and Industry Minister Shri Piyush Goyal outlining five key priorities for the platform's next decade. The priorities include strengthening last-mile access through expanded Suvidha Kendras for registration, cataloguing, training and grievance redressal across districts; deeper integration of Artificial Intelligence for price intelligence, price sanity and marketplace integrity; seamless integration of States, public enterprises, panchayats and cooperatives into a national procurement ecosystem; greater focus on credit and sustainability through scaling GeM Sahay and TReDS linkages while mainstreaming sustainable procurement; and university outreach to bring young innovators and new buyers onto the platform.
GeM, launched on 9 August 2016 under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, has evolved into a massive public procurement platform with a community of more than 25 lakh sellers and over 1.37 lakh buyer organizations. The platform has facilitated cumulative procurement of over ₹20 lakh crore through more than 3.78 crore orders. Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs) have been significant beneficiaries, with 12.28 lakh MSEs fulfilling orders worth more than ₹9 lakh crore, accounting for 45.6% of cumulative GMV. Specifically, more than 2.24 lakh women-led MSEs have fulfilled over 50 lakh orders valued at more than ₹1 lakh crore, while 42,242 startups have secured orders worth more than ₹65,633 crore.
During the anniversary celebrations, GeM launched two significant initiatives: a customised 'My Stamp' to commemorate the milestone, recognizing GeM's contribution to digital governance and Ease of Doing Business, and a dedicated nationwide five-digit short code '14550' for its Helpdesk services. The new short code provides a simple and recognizable communication identity while being virtually mapped to existing Helpdesk infrastructure to ensure service continuity.
The event also featured felicitation of exemplary buyers from Central Ministries and Departments, State Government Departments, and sellers for their contribution to strengthening India's public procurement ecosystem. As GeM enters its second decade, the focus shifts from expansion to multiplying impact through deeper technology adoption, wider participation, greater Ease of Doing Business, stronger procurement intelligence, and faster processes to deliver greater value for public money.