Defence Accounts For About 15% Of Total Procurement On Gem Platform: Goya

Orders placed through the Government e-Marketplace (GeM) by the Military Affairs Department have crossed ₹1.35 lakh crore, and defence accounts for nearly 15% of the total procurement on the platform, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Monday.

Addressing an event to celebrate the 10 years of the public procurement portal Government e-Marketplace (GeM), the minister said goods and services procured by central and state government departments and agencies have crossed ₹5 lakh crore annually.

"The orders through GeM of the Department of Military Affairs have crossed ₹1.35 lakh crore, and today defence accounts for nearly 15% of all the procurement being carried out on GeM," Goyal said.

He added that the platform is under revamp now and the project is being carried out by IT major TCS.

Goyal said that in the last 10 years, goods and services worth over ₹20 lakh crore have been bought through the portal.

Citing a study by IIT Delhi, the minister said the platform has led to a saving of an estimated ₹86,571 crore in three years.

Another study has shown that prices of 101 items on the portal are about 74% cheaper than those of commercial retail e-commerce firms.