Govt plans to make GeM a B2C platform

A note by the Commerce Ministry has proposed that the Government e-Marketplace (GeM) platform be remodelled to also offer B2C retailing. If this plan fructifies, both consumers and businesses will have the opportunity to purchase products that are listed on GeM by private companies. An official familiar with the development stated, “We will set a benchmark for online marketplaces. We plan to make it an ideal platform.” So far, only government departments and PSUs are allowed to buy from the GeM portal, which witnessed transactions of around Rs 17,000 crore in FY 2018-19. The platform currently encompasses over 1 million products, around 15,000 services and more than 260,000 sellers with 37,000 Central and state government organisations as its candidates.