The Ministry of Defence has emerged as the top procurer on the government e-marketplace (GeM), the government's public procurement portal in FY24 in terms of order value and quantity. The ministry has so far contributed ₹72,225.30 crore in the gross merchandise value (GMV) of GeM.

In the current financial year, the procurement through GeM has already reached ₹18,790.60 crore as of 12 September 2023. The order value of the ministry in the fiscal year 2022-23 was ₹28,732.90 crore, while it amounted to ₹15,091.30 crore in the fiscal year 2021-22. Under the Department of Defence Production, the Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs) sold Goods and Services worth ₹2,642.66 crore on GeM in FY 2022-23.

"The significant milestone of procuring goods and services worth over ₹18,000 crore, underscores an outstanding average daily order value of ₹109 crore in the current financial year. The remarkable achievement in the current fiscal results from the active participation of more than 19,800 buyers across the country, collectively placing over 3 lakh orders," says the ministry.

"The Ministry of Defence's contribution to the overall GMV of GeM has consistently remained strong, standing at approximately 15% since its inception and increasing to 16% for the current financial year. Furthermore, since inception, out of the 17,026,945 orders placed on GeM, the Ministry of Defence has played a significant role, accounting for nearly 28% of a total of 4,761,585 orders," it adds.

Last month, the GeM crossed the ₹1 lakh crore Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) milestone in 145 days during the ongoing financial year. The average GMV per day also saw significant growth from ₹412 crore per day in FY23 to ₹690 crore per day in FY24.

The Centre set up the GeM for the procurement of goods and services by various government departments, agencies, and public sector undertakings. It was launched in August 2016 as a part of the government's 'Digital India' initiative to bring transparency, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness to public procurement. GeM aims to simplify the public procurement process, reduce paperwork, and promote the use of digital technology for government procurement. The General Financial Rules 2017 mandates all ministries and departments to procure goods and services available on GeM from GeM.

Since inception, GeM has crossed ₹4.91 lakh crore in GMV and has facilitated over 1.67 crore orders on the platform. The contribution of central public sector enterprises (CPSEs), central ministries and state governments has been 54%, 26% and 20%, respectively. In the past financial year, GeM clocked a GMV of ₹2 lakh crore.

Government e-marketplaces (GeM)

Defence ministry top procurer on GeM at ₹18,790.60 cr in FY24 so far