The Government e Marketplace (GeM) completed 10 years of operations on August 9, 2026, marking a monumental shift in India's public procurement. Administered by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, GeM crossed a cumulative Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) of ₹20 lakh crore. An IIT Delhi study revealed that the platform generated net social savings of ₹1.76 lakh crore over the last three financial years. GeM has heavily promoted inclusive procurement, with Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs) contributing over 45% of total sales, backed by major transaction fee cuts and the integration of AI tools to prevent cartelisation.
The Government e Marketplace (GeM) celebrated a decade of transforming public procurement on August 9, 2026. The platform achieved a landmark cumulative Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) exceeding ₹20 lakh crore. Alongside this milestone, an IIT Delhi study highlighted immense economic efficiency, estimating net social savings of ₹1.76 lakh crore achieved between FY 2023–24 and FY 2025–26 due to improved price and process efficiencies.
The 10-year milestone was officially observed on August 9, 2026. GeM operates as a pan-India digital platform serving government departments, ministries, public sector undertakings (PSUs), and local bodies across the country.
1. Digital Onboarding: Buyers (government entities) and sellers (private vendors, MSEs) register online via an Aadhaar and PAN-linked profile system.
2. Order Processing & Bidding: Buyers can procure directly for smaller amounts, while larger procurements go through an open bidding or reverse auction process on the portal.
3. Transaction Fee Exemptions: To improve the ease of doing business, 97% of all orders are free of transaction charges, specifically exempting all orders up to ₹10 lakh.
4. AI-Powered Monitoring: GeM deploys Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) to track transactional data, detect collusion, identify cartelisation, and prevent the artificial splitting of orders.
For UPSC GS Paper 2 (Governance) and GS Paper 3 (Economy), GeM represents the epitome of "Minimum Government, Maximum Governance." Economically, it has prevented the leakage of taxpayer money through massive social savings. Socially, it champions inclusive growth by guaranteeing market access to women-led enterprises and startups, completely bypassing the traditional red-tapism of government tenders.
Globally, GeM places India among the top nations with centralised digital procurement systems. It is comparable to South Korea’s KONEPS (Korea On-Line E-Procurement System) and Singapore’s GeBIZ. However, GeM’s scale—processing 3.78 crore orders and hosting 25.45 lakh profile-completed sellers—makes it one of the largest public procurement portals in the world by volume.
Core Concept: Public Procurement and GeM
Q1. Under which Union Ministry does the Government e Marketplace (GeM) operate? [Easy]
A) Ministry of Finance
B) Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology
C) Ministry of Commerce and Industry
D) Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises
Answer: C
Explanation: GeM operates as a Special Purpose Vehicle under the administrative control of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
Q2. When did the Government e Marketplace (GeM) complete a decade of its operations? [Easy]
A) April 1, 2026
B) August 9, 2026
C) October 2, 2026
D) January 26, 2026
Answer: B
Explanation: The Government e Marketplace (GeM) completed exactly ten years of operations on 9 August 2026.
Q3. According to the IIT Delhi study (FY 2023–24 to FY 2025–26), what was the estimated net social saving achieved through the GeM platform? [Moderate]
A) ₹86,571 crore
B) ₹1,00,000 crore
C) ₹1,76,411 crore
D) ₹5,00,000 crore
Answer: C
Explanation: An IIT Delhi study covering FY 2023–24 to FY 2025–26 estimated a net social saving of ₹1,76,411.46 crore through price and process efficiencies.
Q4. To enhance the ease of doing business on GeM, orders up to what amount have been exempted from transaction charges? [Moderate]
A) ₹2 lakh
B) ₹5 lakh
C) ₹10 lakh
D) ₹20 lakh
Answer: C
Explanation: Orders up to ₹10 lakh have been exempted from transaction charges, resulting in 97 per cent of all orders attracting no transaction fee.
Q5. What is the approximate share of Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs) in the cumulative Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) of GeM over the last decade? [Moderate]
A) 25.4 percent
B) 33.3 percent
C) 45.6 percent
D) 60.2 percent
Answer: C
Explanation: MSEs have fulfilled orders worth more than ₹9.07 lakh crore, which accounts for 45.6 per cent of the platform's cumulative GMV.
Q6. Which specific rule of the General Financial Rules (GFR) 2017 makes it mandatory for government departments to procure goods and services through GeM? [Tricky]
A) Rule 131
B) Rule 144
C) Rule 149
D) Rule 155
Answer: C
Explanation: Rule 149 of the General Financial Rules (GFR) 2017 was introduced to mandate the procurement of common-use goods and services by Ministries/Departments through GeM.
Q7. Consider the following statements regarding the GMV milestones of GeM: GeM took more than 8 years to achieve its first ₹10 lakh crore in cumulative GMV. How long did it take to achieve the next ₹10 lakh crore? [Tricky]
A) Less than 1 year
B) Less than 2 years
C) Exactly 3 years
D) More than 4 years
Answer: B
Explanation: While the platform took more than eight years to achieve its first ₹10 lakh crore, the next ₹10 lakh crore milestone was reached in less than two years.
Q8. Which technology is primarily being deployed by GeM to identify suspected cartelisation and order splitting among sellers? [Tricky]
A) Blockchain ledgers
B) Quantum Computing algorithms
C) Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML)
D) Internet of Things (IoT) sensors
Answer: C
Explanation: GeM deploys Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) tools to identify suspected cartelisation, collusion, and order splitting.
PYQ 1:
With reference to the public procurement in India, the "Womaniya" initiative is associated with which of the following platforms?
A) e-NAM (National Agriculture Market)
B) Government e Marketplace (GeM)
C) TRIFED
D) Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC)
Answer: B
Explanation: The Womaniya initiative was launched on GeM to encourage women entrepreneurs and SHGs to sell their products directly to the government.
PYQ 2:
Consider the following statements regarding the Government e Marketplace (GeM):
1. It operates under the administrative control of the Ministry of Finance.
2. Orders up to ₹10 lakh on the platform are exempted from transaction charges.
3. Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs) account for more than 40 percent of the cumulative Gross Merchandise Value on the platform.
Which of the above statements is/are correct?
A) 1 and 2 only
B) 2 and 3 only
C) 1 and 3 only
D) 1, 2, and 3
Answer: B
Explanation: Statement 1 is incorrect as GeM operates under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. Statements 2 and 3 are correct as per recent 2026 data.
PYQ 3:
Assertion (A): The Government e Marketplace (GeM) has significantly reduced the cost of public procurement for the government.
Reason (R): GeM utilises a digital bidding process that eliminates intermediaries and uses Artificial Intelligence to identify cartelisation and collusion.
Select the correct code:
A) Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A.
B) Both A and R are true, but R is not the correct explanation of A.
C) A is true, but R is false.
D) A is false, but R is true.
Answer: A
Explanation: An IIT Delhi study confirmed ₹1.76 lakh crore in net social savings (Assertion), which is fundamentally achieved through transparent digital bidding, removing middlemen, and using AI to stop price rigging (Reason).
Question 1 (150 words): Discuss how the Government e Marketplace (GeM) has acted as a catalyst for inclusive economic growth in India.
The Government e Marketplace (GeM) has revolutionised public procurement by breaking the monopoly of large corporate contractors, thereby democratising market access for smaller players. By shifting from an opaque, fragmented system to a unified digital platform, GeM has championed inclusive economic growth at the grassroots level.
This inclusivity is evident in the platform's vendor demographics. Out of its ₹20 lakh crore cumulative Gross Merchandise Value (GMV), Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs) account for an impressive 45.6% (over ₹9.07 lakh crore). The platform has actively brought marginalised businesses into the formal economy, empowering over 2.24 lakh women-led MSEs to fulfil 50 lakh orders valued at over ₹99,147 crore. Furthermore, by eliminating transaction fees on orders up to ₹10 lakh, GeM has made participation viable for micro-entrepreneurs. Going forward, deeper integration with rural logistics ecosystems and expanding the 'Womaniya' initiative will further ensure equitable wealth distribution through public procurement.
Question 2 (250 words): "Digital governance is not merely about digitising records; it is about bringing transparency, efficiency, and social savings." Evaluate this statement in the context of the decade-long journey of the Government e Marketplace (GeM).
Digital governance moves beyond simple record-keeping to actively re-engineering administrative processes for the public good. The Government e Marketplace (GeM), which completed ten years of operations in August 2026, perfectly exemplifies this shift by replacing the opaque, paper-based Directorate General of Supplies and Disposals (DGS&D) with a dynamic, data-driven procurement ecosystem.
Politically and administratively, GeM has institutionalised transparency. Backed by Rule 149 of the General Financial Rules (GFR), it mandates open digital procurement, significantly reducing the scope for nepotism and tender manipulation. The deployment of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) tools to detect cartelisation and artificial order-splitting ensures that capability, rather than connections, determines success in securing government contracts.
Economically, the efficiency gains have been staggering. An IIT Delhi study estimated a net social saving of ₹1,76,411.46 crore between FY 2023–24 and FY 2025–26, proving that digital disintermediation directly saves taxpayer money. By comparing 101 items across platforms, the study found GeM offered lower prices 74.3% of the time. Furthermore, the platform achieved its second ₹10 lakh crore GMV in less than two years—drastically lower than the eight years required for the first—demonstrating accelerated system adoption.
Socially, the platform has empowered 25.45 lakh profile-completed sellers, directing billions of rupees toward MSMEs and startups. To sustain this momentum, policymakers must utilise GeM's rich transactional data trail to further identify supply-chain bottlenecks and refine evidence-based procurement interventions, ensuring e-governance continues to yield tangible national dividends.
For Prelims, examiners heavily focus on the nodal ministry (Commerce & Industry), the fee exemption limit (₹10 lakh), and the specific GFR Rule (Rule 149). For Mains (GS 2 & GS 3), focus on the analytical angle: how GeM promotes MSMEs and ensures anti-corruption via AI/ML tools. In Interviews, if asked about e-governance successes, GeM is the perfect case study to cite, specifically quoting the ₹1.76 lakh crore social savings figure from the IIT Delhi study. High-Probability Prediction: Expect a Prelims statement-based question integrating GeM's AI usage for cartel detection and its exact percentage contribution (over 45%) from MSEs.