Uttar Pradesh has achieved a major achievement on the digital platform for government procurement, GeM i.e. Government e-Marketplace. Since the launch of GeM in 2017, the state has procured more than ₹ 1 lakh crore through it. Uttar Pradesh’s share in the total purchases made through GeM in all the states of the country is more than 30 percent. For this brilliant performance, the state has received three prestigious national awards simultaneously on the 10th foundation day of GeM.
Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal honored Uttar Pradesh with ‘GeM Overall Excellence Award’, ‘Highest GMV since Inception’ and ‘Best Outreach Initiatives for Capacity Building’ at the 10th Foundation Day function of GeM held at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi on 10 August. Principal Secretary, MSMEs Department, Shashi Bhushan Lal Sushil received the awards on behalf of Uttar Pradesh. This honor received in three different categories is a national level recognition of Uttar Pradesh’s consistently better performance on GeM.
Uttar Pradesh received the GeM Overall Excellence Award for the overall performance of the state on GeM. The Highest GMV Since Inception award reflects the state’s procurement of over ₹1 lakh crore since the inception of GeM. The Best Outreach Initiatives for Capacity Building award has been received for the efforts made to make people aware about GeM, provide training and connect more and more departments, officials and businessmen with it.
Principal Secretary Shashibhushan Lal Sushil said that under the guidance of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, the businessmen and entrepreneurs of the state along with the government departments have also benefited from Uttar Pradesh’s increasing purchases on GeM. Micro and small enterprises, women entrepreneurs, Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe enterprises and startups have got better opportunities to participate in government procurement. It has become easier for small businessmen to access the government market and they are able to market their products and services directly to government institutions. He said that purchasing through GeM has provided government departments with the option of different vendors and products. This has made the procurement process more open and competitive. A similar platform has also been created for vendors to reach out to government institutions. Along with increasing the use of GeM in Uttar Pradesh, training and awareness programs have also been conducted to make officers, departments and businessmen understand its process.
Let us tell you that the performance of Uttar Pradesh was not limited to purchase figures only. Procurement worth more than Rs 1 lakh crore, more than 30 percent stake and three national awards together show that the state has effectively adopted GeM in the government procurement system. This has increased transparency in procurement and also increased opportunities for small entrepreneurs, women businessmen and startups to make their place in the government market. The effective coordination of the Government of Uttar Pradesh with GeM has also set a strong example towards good governance by promoting transparency and competition in government procurement. These three national awards received on the 10th foundation day of GeM are recognition of this achievement of Uttar Pradesh.
