GeM, Rail e-procurement integration by year-end; eyes on Rs 1 lakh crore value

India’s national procurement portal for official purchases, Government e-Marketplace (GeM), and the railways’ e-procurement system are likely to be integrated by the end of this year, in a move to simplify and unify the buying and selling processes for ministries and other government agencies.

The integration is expected to push the procurement through GeM to a whopping Rs 1 lakh crore in this financial year, on a par with the Rs 1.11 lakh crore worth of purchases made on the portal since its inception in August 2016.

“Higher procurement is contingent on railway integration by October or November. We are looking at August to roll out a pilot, after which we could go live,” said Prashant Kumar Singh, CEO, GeM. GeM’s gross merchandise value (GMV) in 2020-21 was about Rs 39,000 crore.

Singh said that without integration with the Indian Railways E-procurement System (IREPS), GMV of around Rs 80 lakh crore is possible on the portal. “Integration with the railways’ system is a complex process but we are on track,” he said.

The commerce and industry ministry launched the GeM on August 9, 2016 to create an open and transparent procurement platform of commonly used goods and services for all government departments, ministries and public sector firms.