The Government e-Marketplace (GeM), India’s flagship digital procurement platform, marked its 9th Foundation Day on 8 August 2025 with a renewed pledge to make public procurement more transparent, inclusive, and accessible. Since its inception in August 2016, GeM has transformed the way government departments, public sector undertakings, and other agencies source goods and services, replacing opaque and time-consuming processes with an online system built on efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and fairness.
The celebrations this year revolved around the theme “Ease, Access and Inclusion”, reflecting GeM’s focus on simplifying processes for all participants, widening entry for smaller enterprises, and ensuring a level playing field in government contracting. In line with this vision, the platform announced a set of reforms designed to dismantle entry barriers and reduce operational costs for sellers, especially those from the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) sector, startups, self-help groups, and artisan communities.
Among the most significant changes was the elimination of caution money, a move expected to encourage more first-time sellers to join the platform without the burden of upfront deposits. The vendor assessment fee has also been rationalised, and transaction charges have been sharply reduced with 97% of orders now exempt from such charges altogether. These measures are likely to make GeM an even more attractive option for small businesses that have traditionally found government procurement challenging to navigate.
To engage directly with sellers and gather insights for future policy improvements, GeM hosted the GeM Seller Samvad in New Delhi on 6 August 2025. The interactive forum brought together vendors from across the country to discuss operational issues, share success stories, and suggest ways to make the procurement ecosystem more inclusive. In addition, the GeM Manthan initiative provided a platform for stakeholders to brainstorm the next steps in leveraging technology and policy support to expand the reach and efficiency of the platform.
In just nine years, GeM’s growth has been remarkable. For the financial year 2024-25, the platform recorded a Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) of ₹5.4 lakh crore, a milestone that underlines its expanding role in India’s procurement landscape. More than 1.5 lakh women-led enterprises, including self-help groups, tribal artisans, and startup ventures, have been onboarded, giving them direct access to the government’s vast procurement pipeline. The platform has also widened its portfolio of services, now including insurance, manpower outsourcing, and mine development and operations, in addition to its core range of products and conventional services.
Technology has been central to this evolution. GeM has introduced artificial intelligence-powered tools to streamline procurement and flag potential irregularities, enhancing transparency and trust in the system. The launch of a multilingual Learning Management System (LMS) has made it easier for sellers from diverse linguistic backgrounds to understand the processes, complete registrations, and manage their transactions. The LMS also features voice-enabled navigation and region-specific content, ensuring that even first-time users from rural areas can participate without being hindered by language barriers or lack of technical familiarity.
Speaking on the occasion, GeM’s Chief Executive Officer, Mihir Kumar, emphasised that the new reforms are not just operational tweaks but part of a broader vision. “We want GeM to be a platform where every enterprise, from tribal artisans to high-tech startups, feels equally empowered to compete and grow,” he said. “Ease, access, and inclusion are not just themes — they are the foundation of how we want the procurement ecosystem to function.”
The 9th Foundation Day celebrations also served as a moment of reflection. When GeM was launched in 2016, it was an ambitious experiment in digitising procurement. Today, it is not only a proven model for India but also a potential blueprint for other developing nations seeking to modernise government purchases. Its integration with other government platforms, real-time analytics, and robust vendor verification processes have made it a trusted tool for buyers while ensuring that suppliers are paid promptly and treated fairly.
Looking ahead, GeM aims to deepen its outreach to under-represented sectors and geographies, bring more service categories into its fold, and enhance interoperability with emerging fintech solutions to facilitate faster payments and working capital support for sellers. By combining policy reforms with technology-driven inclusivity, the platform hopes to keep pushing the boundaries of what public procurement can achieve.
As the event concluded, the message from the leadership was clear: GeM’s first nine years have laid the groundwork for a more transparent, inclusive, and efficient procurement ecosystem, but the journey is far from over. With its recent reforms and renewed commitment, the marketplace is poised to continue breaking down barriers, expanding opportunities, and setting new benchmarks for digital governance in the years to come.
Sources:
- https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2154136
- https://www.uniindia.com/~/govt-e-marketplace-hosts-gem-seller-samvad-to-celebrate-its-9th-foundation-day/Business%20Economy/news/3539403.html
- https://www.thestatesman.com/business/gem-marks-9th-anniversary-adds-rs-5-4-trillion-in-gross-merchandise-value-1503468791.html
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