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According to a senior source, the public procurement portal GeM has released an approach paper for stakeholder engagements as it looks into ways to bring works to the platform to expand its coverage.

The Government e-Marketplace (GeM) platform, was launched in 2016 for the online purchasing of products and services by all central government ministries and departments. Currently, only registered goods and service suppliers can buy products and services through this platform.

Construction projects include creating roads and structures, as well as establishing large plants and other facilities. There isn’t yet any way to purchase these works on the GeM platform. The GeM portal does not list large contractors who perform these services. Therefore, to investigate options for including these works on the platform, we have released an approach paper for stakeholder engagements, GeM CEO Talleen Kumar told PTI.

He claimed that by allowing the purchase of these works, the platform would become a national portal for many purchases by the states, the federal government, and other government organisations. GeM would approach the centre for further action after gathering opinions from all stakeholders, including the governments of the states and the federal government.

In a letter to all state and union territory chief secretaries and central government secretaries, Kumar stated that GeM’s current responsibility is to provide a platform for the purchase of goods and services for federal and state government organisations. However, the organisation is currently working to develop a national unified procurement system that will provide a single platform for the purchase of goods, services, and works.

The bid documents now are in use by the public works departments of five states, the Ministries of Defense and Railways, NTPC, IOCL, CPWD, NHAI, NHIDCL, and PGCIL have undergone a thorough study by GeM. The approach paper shares the results of the examination of 47 bid documents for works contracts that these organisations used in the recent past.

The purchasing entities (PEs) will create their unique bid documents by selecting from a library of standard bid document templates thanks to technology. GeM has asked ministries and departments that may be involved in the procurement of works for their opinions, feedback, and suggestions. They should be able to share their opinions by December 28 of this year. Since its beginning, GeM, according to Kumar, has caused a paradigm shift in the way PEs buy products and services.

It offers a national platform with over 7.5 lakh vendors and service providers, over 17 lakh products, and a transaction value of over Rs 71,900 crore. As a result, the MSME sector’s reach has increased while transaction times and costs for acquiring goods and services have decreased. He added that initially; the builder is suggested to be used just for works contracts utilising National Competitive Bidding (NCB) procedures, but we expect it to bring about improved economy, efficiency, and openness in the procurement of works.

Central EProcurement

GeM, or what we call Government E-Marketplace, is an obtainment or procurement portal that can be used to purchase or sell any item or goods by anyone. This is hosted by DGS&D. GeM aims to make procurement easier for its users, hence it is dynamic, self-sustaining, and extremely user-friendly.

Most importantly, GeM is a completely paperless, cashless, and system-driven e-marketplace! This means procurement of common-use goods and services happens with minimal human interface. To make sure there are no faults and errors for registration on this portal, one needs to understand its eligibility criteria, the documents required, and third and most important, the procurement process on the portal.

Here are a few things to note while creating an account on the GeM platform:

It is extremely easy and accessible. Just like any other portal, it will ask the individual for specific details such as Phone number, identification proof, etc. Make sure to put these details carefully.

The individual signing up for GeM will get two options: Buyers and Sellers

The ones who want to sign up as buyers may choose the Buyers tab on the portal while those who want to sign up as sellers, may choose the Seller’s tab on the portal.

There are many advantages for both the buyers and the sellers. These are as follows:

For buyers:

Variety of listing of products for individual categories of Goods/Services

You can search, compare, and buy facilities at your convenience and choice

Buying Goods and Services online, as per your requirement, at any time

Maintains transparency during the transactions 

Easy Return policy

For sellers:

One-stop-shop for bids / reverse auctions on products / services

Dynamic pricing: Price can be changed based on market conditions

Seller-friendly dashboard for selling and monitoring supplies and payments

Consistent and uniform purchase procedures

GeM minimizes the human interface in vendor registration, order placement, and payment processing. Being an open and online platform, GeM offers no entry barriers to suppliers who wish to do business with the Government. Hence, transparency is maintained at all times.

GeM allows direct purchase just in a matter of minutes and the entire process is online, end to end integrated, and with online tools for assessing price reasonability. It enhances efficiency and makes the procedures of procurement very accessible and effortless.

GeM is a completely safe platform and all the documents on GeM are e-Signed at various stages by the buyers and sellers. At every step, SMS and e-Mail notifications are sent to both buyers, his/her head of the organization, paying authorities as well as sellers to make sure there is no obstacle or fear while proceeding with the procurement process.

Step:1 Go to the official website of GeM

You can find the link on Google or any search engine

Click on the Seller tab

Go to the “Sign Up” Tab

Read the ‘terms and conditions’ carefully before proceeding with the “accept” option

Step:2 Fill up the form

After accepting the ‘terms and conditions', the page will be redirected to the GeM seller registration form.

You need to carefully concur and proffer some specific details about you and your organization

Make sure to write the name of the constitution correctly and further, choose the type of registration you are comfortable with, i.e. PAN or Aadhar card. In each case, you will have to fill in some crucial details

Enter your Mobile number and which is currently in use and you will receive an OTP once you are done

After that, you will need to verify your email (if available) in the same manner as well. Once you are done, you can jot down the desired password and username. Tap on the “create account” option at the end to complete the GeM seller registration.

Eprocurement India

Plastic materials provide many conveniences in our daily lives and directly or indirectly employ about 10 million people. Agriculture, textiles, pharmaceuticals, automotive, infrastructure, and electronics are just a few of the industries that employ plastics. Unfortunately, unsustainable plastic consumption has caused several problems, causing scientific garbage collection and recycling management. Many businesses and entrepreneurs stepped up to help Local Bodies fight this enormous struggle.

Mr. Sachin Sharma and his associates found GEM Enviro Management to help with the recycling of many packaging trash. The company was founded in 2013 and began working on plastic garbage collecting and recycling in India, as well as providing end-to-end waste management solutions to clients.

GEM Enviro Management Pvt. Ltd. is a Delhi-based ‘Waste Management Agency (WMA).’ It is successfully running under Mr. Sachin Sharma’s supervision and leadership. The company offers WMA/PRO, which simplifies the collection chain of much plastic waste, such as PET, H.D.P.E., L.D.P.E., P.P., and other types of plastic waste, for recycling, as well as the marketing/promotion/selling of recycled items created from plastic wastes. It ensures a healthier and greener environment for current and future generations. Ganesha Ecosphere Limited, India’s largest PET recycling company with a turnover of USD 100 million in PET waste recycling, marketing, and branding of recovered yarn, backs GEM Enviro.

They organise and take part in various awareness programmes in schools, universities, offices, residential groups housing societies, rag-pickers colonies, and other locations with the purpose of raising public awareness about trash sustainability and recycling. GEM Enviro, as a recycler, is even designing Reverse Vending Machines and Hand Pressed Reverse Vending Machines in-house, which are currently installed in over 25 places around the country. They are active members of PACE, an industry organisation that brings together producers and manufacturers of plastic packaging (PET Packaging Association for Clean Environment).

Mr. Sachin estimates that, on average, each home disposes of roughly 20 bottles every month in an interview with Your Story. A community of 500 flats will produce 10,000 bottles together. Customers can earn rewards such as freebies and other incentives by using reverse vending machines.

The selling of packaging scrap to recyclers and the sale of recycled items to corporate organisations are the two primary sources of revenue for GEM. The site has partnered with Ganesh Ecosphere to sell PET waste and get a percentage of the profit. Ganesh Ecosphere produces fiber[N1]  from PET trash, which GEM purchases and uses to make T-shirts, hats, and bags. The prices of the items range from Rs 250 to Rs 700.

EProcurement Portal

GeM is a short form of DGS&D’s one-stop Government e-Marketplace, which allows common users to purchase goods and services. GeM is a government-created, self-sustaining, and user-friendly e-procurement portal. Public procurement is a significant aspect of government activity, and reforming it is one of the current administration’s major goals.

Whereas B2B procurement refers to the complete process of obtaining commodities, materials, parts, or products from vendors, and comprises the following steps:

Choosing the product you want

Making a purchase

Getting the order and paying for it

Creating all the paperwork along the route

Background

The Prime Minister received proposals from two groups of secretaries in January 2016 that led to the creation of the Government e-Marketplace. Besides overhauling DGS&D, they suggested creating a separate e-market for various commodities and services gained or sold by government/PSUs.

Subsequently, in his Budget Statement for the 2016-17 financial year, the Minister of Finance announced the creation of a technology-driven platform to facilitate the procurement of goods and services by departments and agencies. GeM is a product and service procurement platform established by DGS&D with technical help from the National E-Government Division (Department of Electronics and Information Technology).

The Commerce and Industry Minister opened the portal on August 9, 2016. By making appropriate revisions, General Financial Rules have permitted government rules and procurement on GeM. On the GeM POC portal, there are currently around 7400 products in about 150 product categories, as well as the option of hiring a transportation service. GeM has already handled transactions totalling more than Rs 140 crore. GeM is a paperless, cashless, and system-driven e-marketplace that allows for the purchase of everyday goods and services with minimal human interaction.

Advantages of Government e-Marketplace

For Buyers:

Individual Goods/Services categories include a rich catalog of products.

The ability to search, compare, choose, and buy

Purchasing goods and services online as needed.

Transparency and simplicity in purchasing

A system for ranking vendors continuously

A simple dashboard for ordering goods and keeping track of payments.

The return policy is simple.

For Sellers:

All government departments are accessible directly.

Marketing in one place with minimal effort.

Bids / reverse auctions on products/services in one place

Sellers have access to a new product suggestion feature.

Pricing that changes over time: Price is subject to fluctuation depending on market conditions.

A user-friendly dashboard for selling and tracking supplies and payments is available to sellers.

As the country approaches a year of dealing with Covid-19, we all agree that the economic impact has been significant. While some industries/verticals have fared better, everyone has been affected. The government is no exception. It’s no secret that the pandemic has reduced government revenues at the national, state, and municipal levels. And, at least in the medium term, most forecasts don’t see an improvement.

While tax revenue is decreasing, pressure on government organisations to spend more is increasing (in many circumstances). Although the federal government can help ease some burdens with programmes like the CARES Act. The states and municipalities are being compelled to “think differently” about additional revenue streams.

Innovative Steps to Uncover New Sources of Revenue in the Public Sector:

Step 1: Use e-Procurement Systems as a Potential Source of Revenue

Procurement as an additional source of revenue is paradoxical, yet it fits the bill for thinking outside the box. For decades, several states have used e-procurement to reduce cycle times, optimise procedures, and engage with suppliers as part of their technology footprint.

However, only a minimal percentage of these governments have looked into e-Procurement as a revenue stream. The states of Florida, North Carolina, and Virginia were early adopters of this strategy. All three states implemented a transaction fee model several years ago. It is a charge or a fee for revenue generated by transactions made through the state e-Procurement system.

These fees accounted for a modest percentage of the overall vendor revenue, ranging from a fraction of a percent to approximately 2% of the purchase price. The regulations governing how fees are collected have developed throughout time and differed from state to state. Exemptions for small enterprises and maximum “cap” amounts are two examples of these additional changes.

Step 2: Use e-Procurement systems for vendor relationships

While some suppliers are unhappy with the transaction fees, the majority recognise that the benefits of using an e-procurement system make the extra cost of doing business worthwhile. Whether they award them a contract, this entails receiving deeper visibility into a potential business through a transparent, competitive, and minimal friction process. Unlike a ‘pay to play’ approach, which inhibits competition among potential vendors, transaction fees force vendors to pay if they earn business. Vendors also see transaction fees as a necessary evil to win further business from public bodies and external entities by leveraging statewide and cooperative contracts.

Step 3: Drive Value with State Procurement Agreements

Other government agencies can benefit from purchasing through state procurement agreements through statewide and cooperative contracts. This method, known as piggybacking, allows Public Sector partners to purchase goods and services through contracts negotiated by state procurement authorities.

The state’s borders (such as universities, cities, and towns), and government organisations beyond the state’s borders, are among these partners. It is valuable to make purchases using favourable conditions in the initial contract, regardless of the partner’s location.

Globally, countries are anticipated to spend roughly 13% of GDP on public procurement (Bosio et al., 2020), implying that enhancing the efficiency, effectiveness, integrity, and sustainability of public procurement could free up budgetary headroom. But, in fact, how might these possibilities be realised? Is there a trade-off between increasing efficiency (and so freeing up fiscal space) and pursuing the other public procurement objectives? The rising body of economic literature on public procurement is reviewed in this blog.

Inclusiveness in public bidding processes

Public procurement can help a company develop. According to Ferraz et al. (2015), winning one government contract in Brazil boosts firm employee growth by 2.2 percentage points in the next quarter, and these effects last in the long run as winning firms engage in and win more future auctions and expand their operations into new markets.

While national and local governments are increasingly leveraging their public procurement systems to target specific market niches for growth, the evidence for these reservation regulations is mixed. For example, there is conflicting evidence on the impact of preferential treatment schemes, with two studies examining the same programme for small businesses in California coming to contradictory results. While Marion (2007) found that preferential treatment raises procurement costs by 3.8 percent, Krasnokutskaya and Seim (2011) observed that the distortionary impacts are minor in comparison to the benefits to business growth.

Access through e-procurement

Procurement process digitization has the potential to cause significant changes in public procurement. Lewis-Faupel et al. (2016) found that e-procurement encouraged the admission of higher quality contractors and led to quality improvements in India and Indonesia. In Bangladesh, an effective review of e-procurement adoption found that it reduced integrity risks, increased business participation, and reduced costs given by firms throughout the bidding process. E-procurement, on the other hand, is not a panacea for resolving inefficiencies in expenditure and lowering integrity concerns. Lewis-Faupel et al. (2016) found no indication that e-procurement in India and Indonesia resulted in lower ultimate prices paid by the government. E-procurement had little effect on the ultimate cost of capital investment projects, time overruns, or contract execution quality in Bangladesh, suggesting that inefficiencies and corruption concerns were simply shifted to other stages of the process.

Corruption and transparency

Misallocation of public funds is caused by corruption, collusion, and other anti-competitive actions. According to a growing body of economic study, political connections distort procurement decisions. In Italy, each additional term in office of the mayor reduces the number of bidders and the winning rebate while increasing the possibility of local winners or many contracts being awarded to the same firm [Coviello & Gagliarducci, 2010]. Corporate money buys preferential treatment in procurement auctions in Lithuania, according to Baltrunaite (2020), and this is decreased by rules prohibiting corporate donations to political parties and campaigns.

What is e-tendering and how does it work? A tender is an offer to perform work or supply goods at a predetermined price. Contractors are encouraged to submit sealed bids for construction or the provision of specified and specially defined services or items within a specific timeframe in the first step of this tendering procedure. In India, the e-tendering procedure is aimed at ensuring that work for the government or a specific client is completed fairly. For example, different places may have different procurement policies that instruct the local government on how to make decisions and which tenders to accept. Although an e-tendering procedure is a crucial component to consider when deciding which tender to bid on or accept, it is not the only factor to consider.

A tender is binding on both parties once the client/government approves it. This means that the winning company or individual must deliver goods and services in the agreed-upon way and at the agreed-upon price, and the client must pay the agreed-upon sum in the agreed-upon period.

A contract is formed when a tender is accepted.

Types of e-Tendering

A competent team must be ready with all tendering documents examined and authorised before any tendering process can begin. There must also be a source of finance available, as well as project financing in place. To ensure that the online tendering process runs successfully, the processes in the future stages should be implemented with the express approval of the employer.

The sort of tendering an employer must use is solely determined by the contract's nature, the construction's complexity, the skills required, and a variety of other factors.

Open tenders are generally used for government projects to ensure that procurement and work are done fairly and without bias. Open tender, selective tender, negotiated tender, and term tendering are the most common forms of tenders.

— Open Tendering

Both the private sector and the government use open tendering as their primary procurement method. The client publishes the tender offers in the local newspaper, together with crucial details about the proposed works and an invitation to bid. An invitation to treat, or a simple request by the employer for a suitable contract, is included in the tender notification.

— Selective Tendering

The only alternative created to overcome the limitations of the open tendering procedure is selective tendering. A shortlist of contractors is compiled at this point, and they are requested to submit tenders. The goal of this tender is to increase the quality of bids received by ensuring that contractors with the requisite experience are allowed to submit bids for the employer's unique needs. This makes India's e-tendering procedure more manageable and burden-free for all parties concerned.

— Negotiation Tendering

This style of tendering is commonly utilised in the engineering and construction business, starting with the tendering process and continuing through the resolution of disputes, which falls under pre-contract and post-contract negotiations. Normally, only one contractor is involved, however, this can be increased to three.

— Term Tender