A MINI PROJECT REPORT ON

“Effect of COVID-19 on Economy in India”

Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award of the degree of

MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION (TECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENT)

Submitted by

V SNEHA
(1004-20-682-015)
BATCH 2020-2022

Under the esteemed guidance of

Prof. Mrs. K. Gnana

Chandrika
DEPARTMENT OF BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF COMMERCE AND BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

OSMANIA UNIVERSITY
HYDERABAD, TELANGANA

Page 1 of 34
 DECLARATION

I SNEHA VARINDANI, hereby declare that project work entitled “Effect of COVID-19 on

Economy in India” submitted by me in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of MBA

(Technology Management) program submitted to the department of Master of Business Administration,

Osmania University, Hyderabad is an authentic record of my research work and it is not submitted to any

other university or college or institution for the award of any degree/diploma/certificate or published any

time before. The project is drafted by me and is original to the best of my knowledge and behalf.

SIGNATURE OF CANDIDATE

SNEHA VARINDANI

(H.T.NO: 1004-20-682-015)
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The satisfaction and euphoria that accompany the successful completion of any task would be

incomplete without mentioning the people whose constant guidance and encouragement made it possible.

I take this opportunity to thank all those who have been of help to me in the completion of this project.

I would like to thank Mrs. K. Gnana Chandrika, Professor, Department of Business Management,

Osmania University, Hyderabad for his continuous support, supervision, motivation and guidance

throughout the tenure of my project.

I am also grateful to all the faculty members who have directly or indirectly helped me in preparing

this project report through their valued guidance, co-operation and support during the course of my project.

I also acknowledge with a deep sense of reverence, my gratitude towards my parents and members of

my family, who always supported me morally as well as economically.

With regards and gratitude,

SNEHA VARINDANI

(H.T.NO: 1004-20-682-015)
 CERTIFICATE FROM THE GUIDE

This is to certify that the Project Report titled entitled “Effect of COVID-19 on Economy in India” submitted

in partial fulfillment for the award of MBA program by Osmania University, Hyderabad, was carried out by

SNEHA VARINDANI (H.T.No: 1004-20-682-015), under my guidance. This has not been submitted to any other

University or Institution for the award of any degree/diploma/certificate

Signature of Director Signature of Guide

 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Contents
“Effect of COVID-19 on Economy in India”.................................................................................................................1
DECLARATION.................................................................................................................................................................... 2
SIGNATURE OF CANDIDATE.....................................................................................................................................2
SNEHA VARINDANI......................................................................................................................................................2
(H.T.NO: 1004-20-682-015)..............................................................................................................................................2
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT......................................................................................................................................................3
SNEHA VARINDANI (H.T.NO: 1004-20-682-015).......................................................................................................3
CERTIFICATE FROM THE GUIDE.....................................................................................................................................4
Signature of Director Signature of Guide.....................................................................................................................4
TABLE OF CONTENTS........................................................................................................................................................5
1. INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................................................................6
1.1. ABSTRACT OF THE PROJECT...............................................................................................................................6
Abstract............................................................................................................................................................................6
Introduction..........................................................................................................................................................................6
1.2. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY OF THE PROJECT..............................................................................................8
Data collection:.......................................................................................................................................................................8
Sources of data:...................................................................................................................................................................... 9
1.3. SCOPE OF THE PROJECT........................................................................................................................................9
2. COMPANY PROFILE...............................................................................................................................................10
2.1. Sectoral Implications of COVID-19 Pandemic in India 10
Vision:.................................................................................................................................................................................. 10
Mission:................................................................................................................................................................................ 10
The Board of Directors:........................................................................................................................................................10
2.2. CHARTER OF GeM..................................................................................................................................................11
2.3. KEY STAKEHOLDERS OF GeM PORTAL...........................................................................................................12
2.4. GeM PROCUREMENT CYCLE..............................................................................................................................13
2.5. USER ROLES.............................................................................................................................................................14
2.6. ADVANTAGES OF GeM PORTAL.........................................................................................................................14
Why buy on GeM?..........................................................................................................................................................14
Why Sell on GeM?..........................................................................................................................................................16
3. EVOLUTION OF GeM..............................................................................................................................................17
3.1. PURCHASE REDEFINED WITH GeM...................................................................................................................17
3.2. EVOLUTION OF GeM..............................................................................................................................................17
3.3. GeM 3.0........................................................................................................................................................................ 19
BENEFITS OF GeM 3.0:...............................................................................................................................................19
3.4. GeM 4.0........................................................................................................................................................................ 20
 KEY FEATURES OF GeM 4.0:....................................................................................................................................20
3.5. INITIATIVES TAKEN BY GeM..............................................................................................................................21
3.6. ACHEIVEMENTS OF GeM......................................................................................................................................22
4. ANALYSIS OF GeM PORTAL STATISTICS.............................................................................................................23
4.1. LATEST STATISTICS OF GeM..............................................................................................................................23
(As on 27th October 2021)...............................................................................................................................................23
4.2. COMPARISON OF STATISTICS OF GeM (FY19-20)..........................................................................................23
4.3. GeM TRANSACTIONS DURING PANDEMIC PERIOD.....................................................................................26
New Infrastructure categories added on GeM during Pandemic/Covid-19 Period...................................................26
5. CONCLUSION............................................................................................................................................................... 32
7. GeM is an example of how digital platforms created with a strategic and clear intent to transform legacy
processes can effect lasting change....................................................................................................................32
6. BIBLIOGRAPHY...........................................................................................................................................................33
 1. INTRODUCTION
1.1. ABSTRACT OF THE PROJECT

Abstract

The outbreak of COVID-19 brought social and economic life to a standstill. In this study the
focus is on assessing the impact on affected sectors, such as aviation, tourism, retail, capital markets,
MSMEs, and oil. International and internal mobility is restricted, and the revenues generated by
travel and tourism, which contributes 9.2% of the GDP, will take a major toll on the GDP growth
rate. Aviation revenues will come down by USD 1.56 billion. Oil has plummeted to 18-year low
of $ 22 per barrel in March, and Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) have withdrawn huge amounts
from India, about USD 571.4 million. While lower oil prices will shrink the current account deficit,
reverse capital flows will expand it. Rupee is continuously depreciating. MSMEs will undergo a
severe cash crunch. The crisis witnessed a horrifying mass exodus of such floating population of
migrants on foot, amidst countrywide lockdown. Their worries primarily were loss of job, daily ration,
and absence of a social security net. India must rethink on her development paradigm and make it
more inclusive. COVID 19 has also provided some unique opportunities to India. There is an
opportunity to participate in global supply chains, multinationals are losing trust in China. To ‘Make
in India’, some reforms are needed, labor reforms being one of them.

Introduction
The outbreak of COVID-19 has impacted nations in an enormous way, especially the nationwide
lockdowns which have brought social and economic life to a standstill. A world which forever buzzed
with activities has fallen silent and all the resources have been diverted to meeting the never-
experienced- before crisis. There is a multi-sectoral impact of the virus as the economic activities of
nations have slowed down. What is astonishing and worth noting is an alarm bell which was rung in
2019 by the World Health Organization (WHO) about the world’s inability to fight a global pandemic. A
2019 joint report from the WHO and the World Bank estimated the impact of such a pandemic at 2.2 per
cent to 4.8 per cent of global GDP. That prediction seems to have come true, as we see the world getting
engulfed by this crisis.

In another report entitled‘COVID-19 and the world of work: Impact and policy responses’ by
International Labour Organization, it was explained that the crisis has already transformed into an
economic and labour market shock, impacting not only supply (production of goods and services) but
also demand (consumption and investment). International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) chief said that, ‘World
is faced with extraordinary uncertainty about the depth and duration of this crisis, and it was the worst
economic fallout since the Great Depression’. The IMF estimated the external financing needs for
emerging markets and developing economies in trillions of dollars. India too is groaning under the yoke
of the pandemic and as per news reports in Economic Times published on 23 March 2020, the
economists are pegging the cost of the COVID-19 lockdown at US$120 billion or 4 per cent of the GDP
(The Economist, 2020).

This COVID-19 pandemic affected the manufacturing and the services sector—hospitality, tours and
travels, healthcare, retail, banks, hotels, real estate, education, health, IT, recreation, media and others.
The economic stress has started and will grow rapidly. While lockdown and social distancing result in
productivity loss on the one hand, they cause a sharp decline in demand for goods and services by the
consumers in the market on the other, thus leading to a collapse in economic activity. However,
lockdown and social distancing are the only cost-effective tools available to prevent the spread of
COVID-19. Governments are learning by doing, as it was in the case of success of containment strategy
in Bhilwara district, Rajasthan, India, the economic risks of closing the economy remain nonetheless.
Similarly, flattering the caseload curve is critical for economy at large, but it comes with an economic
cost.
 1.2. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY OF THE PROJECT
Data collection:
Research studies done earlier to assess the economic impact of epidemics have been based on
simulation models. A study done by Martin Karlsson (2014) to assess the impact of 1918 Spanish flu
epidemic on Swedish economy is based on the neoclassical growth model; an extension of the standard
difference-in- differences (DID) estimator was employed to exploit the differing flu mortality rates
across Swedish regions. The policy brief issued by the Asian Development Bank to assess the economic
impact of Avian Flu pandemic on Asian economies has been done through macroeconomic simulations
based on Oxford Economic Forecasting (OEF) global model, which incorporates both the demand and
supply sides and adjusts to a new equilibrium after a shock (Bloom et al., 2005). The empirical estimates
of the economic effects of the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) epidemic are based on a global
model called the G-Cubed (Asia-Pacific) model which was proposed by Lee and McKibbin (2004).

Economic effects of epidemics are measured through economic costs deriving from disease-associated
medical costs or forgone incomes as a result of the disease-related morbidity and mortality. In a global
economy, the economic consequences of an epidemic in one country are transferred to other countries
because of the integrated supply chains and capital markets. COVID-19 pandemic is caused by novel
coronavirus infection, and scientific research is going on to study the impact of this infection on the
human body and to find a possible cure for the infection. There are many variables in the
epidemiological calculations done for this disease which are based on assumptions such as the cause of
infection, the infection rate and the ratio of asymptomatic cases to symptomatic cases. In the future,
scientific research will unravel the mysteries of this disease and the disease spread. Economic
projections or simulations are closely linked to epidemiological forecasting of the disease pattern. We
decided not to use simulation models because of the uncertainties related to the disease. In this study,
the focus is on assessing the damages caused by COVID-19 in the affected sectors, such as aviation,
tourism and the retail, the overall productivity loss and the socio-economic impact of labor hours lost
with an analysis of developmental policy and program implications.
Sources of data:

a) Primary data:

The observation method is the most commonly used method. Data pertaining to this project and most of

information is collected from project guide in the company.

b) Secondary data:

Secondary data is collected from already existing sources in various organization brochures & records.

Secondary data for the study were collected from the magazines, websites & other previous studies. To meet

the objectives, the study used qualitative research. The descriptive study was done through review of

existing literature that helped in validation and extraction of the important variables and factors.

Data was collected from secondary sources. Secondary sources were magazines, websites, books, office

executives, and company data.

1.3. SCOPE OF THE PROJECT

This project is based on the study of Evolution of Government e-Marketplace (GeM). The key features,

benefits of GeM are studied. The statistics of GeM since its inception are analyzed and presented in this

report. This report also details about the transactions made on GeM Portal during Pandemic period i.e. 1st

March 2020 onwards.

 2. COMPANY PROFILE
2.1. ABOUT GeM
Vision:
To affect an evolution in public procurement promoting a transparent, efficient and inclusive

marketplace.

Mission:
a) Institute a unified procurement policy to encourage behavorial change and drive reform.

b) Establish a lean, dynamic organization capable of continuous innovation and market driven decision

making.

c) Build an easy to use, fully automated platform to ensure transparency and efficiency in procurement

d) Demonstrate commitment to delivering value by ensuring right quality at right price

e) Create a sustainable ecosystem covering all stakeholders and driving inclusive development in India

The Board of Directors:

a) Sh. B.V.R. Subrahmanyam, Secretary, Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce & Industry,

Government of India and Chairperson & Nominee Director, GeM

b) Sh. Ajay Prakash Sawhney, Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and IT, Government of India &

Nominee Director, GeM

c) Sh. Prashant Kumar Singh, Director & CEO, GeM

d) Sh. Sanjay Prasad, Additional Secretary, Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance, Government of

India & Nominee Director, GeM

e) Sh. Surendra Kumar Ahirwar, Joint Secretary, Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce

& Industry, Government of India & Nominee Director, GeM

2.2. CHARTER OF GeM
a) GeM shall provide a complete end-to end contactless, cashless and paperless procurement

system: GeM shall cover the entire procurement process right from vendor registration to order

fulfilment and payment.

b) GeM shall constantly endeavour to enhance transparency and efficiency in the procurement

process: GeM shall bring about standardization in the procurement process and ensure adherence to

timely delivery and payment.

c) GeM shall be a trust based system with minimal manual intervention: GeM shall leverage

technology and the existing database with domain Ministries to ensure ease and convenience in the

processes of registration, procurement transaction and contracting.

d) GeM shall provide decision support to help users achieve optimal value-for-money: GeM

platform shall provide additional features such as buyer and seller rating, tools to establish price

reasonability and demand forecasting to help its users make more informed decisions.

e) GeM shall provide a robust audit trail along with an internal system of check and controls:

GeM platform shall employ a system of inbuilt checks and controls and maintain an audit trail (for a

period specified on the GeM platform) that shall make it possible to trace back the activity of any

user if the need arises

f) GeM shall be an inclusive platform and support the objectives of the various preferential

market access policies: GeM shall, to the extent possible, encourage and enable local businesses,

Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs) and startups to conduct business with the Government

g) GeM shall in line with its principles of transparency and openness publish a monthly

scoreboard on the platform: GeM shall keep all its stakeholders informed regarding the

development and growth of the GeM platform by way of a monthly scoreboard1 that shall cover the

following key elements - GeM shall send this overall report along with the progress shown at the

level of each Ministry and State to the Cabinet Secretary and the Commerce Secretary. GeM shall
 also send quarterly progress reports of these parameters at a Ministry/State/ UT level to each of the

respective Secretaries and Chief Secretaries/Administrators.

h) GeM shall actively drive collaboration with key stakeholders including Ministries and States:

GeM shall interface with the Standing Committees (for each Ministry and State) on various issues

including annual procurement plan, defining technical specifications and reviewing the procurement

process

2.3. KEY STAKEHOLDERS OF GeM PORTAL

Internal
Stakeholders

Partners Buyers

Key
Stakeholders
of GeM

Inspection
systems Sellers

External
Government
systems

Figure 1: Stakeholders of GeM Portal

Internal Stakeholders:
GeM SPV; MSP; PMU
Buyers:
Central Govt.; Central PSUs; State Govt.; State PSUs & Autonomous Bodies
Sellers:
OEMs; MSE; Start-up; Authorized Resellers; Service Providers
Inspection Systems:
CAG; CVC; CGDA; RTI
Partners:
Banks ; Rating Agencies ; 3PL ; Other Commercial Agencies
External Govt. Systems :
UIDAI ; GSTN ; PFMS ; PAN Database

2.4. GeM PROCUREMENT CYCLE

Figure 2: GeM Procurement cycle

2.5. USER ROLES
Primary user:
Primary user registration is authorised at the level of Deputy Secretary/Equivalent officer or head of the

Officer at Sub centre/Unit/Branch of Government Organisation.

The primary user registered on GeM himself/herself shall not have any direct role required for buying in

GeM

The primary user shall be assigned authority to create, edit and deactivate various role assigned to

subordinate officer as secondary user for buying on GeM

The primary user can create secondary subordinate users on GeM portal with specific role of Buyers,

Consignees, DDOs and PAO.

Secondary user:
The subordinate officer registered as secondary user shall have direct role based participation in GeM

buying process.

Buyers and/or Consignee is generally Store/Purchase Officer. Placement of Supply order through

exercising various tools available on GeM portal viz Direct Purchase/Bidding/Reverse Auction, Receipt of

Equipment, Creation of PRC & CRAC

DDO and PAO is generally Accounts Officer. Processing of the bills and making payment via PFMS,

internet banking or other/offline modes of payment

2.6. ADVANTAGES OF GeM PORTAL

Why buy on GeM?

a) Provide transparency and ease of buying

b) Offers rich listing of products for individual category of goods/services

c) Direct purchase for amounts upto INR 25000 & L1 purchase for amounts greater than INR

25000 and less than INR 5 Lakhs

d) Proprietary Article Certificate Bid- Procurement of specific product as per requirement

e) Price Trends and Price Comparison From Multiple Suppliers

f) Direct notifications to sellers

g) Integrated Payment System

h) Easy to comprehend interface to search, compare, select and buy

i) User friendly dashboard for monitoring supplies and payments

j) Online grievance redressal mechanism for quick resolution

k) Float bid among population of 3 lakhs sellers

l) Buyers can now select bid duration between 10 & 21 days.

m) Delivery period up to 180 days

n) Option to provide multiple consignee locations and quantity

o) Multiple consignee can be selected for Services

p) Pin-code based seller selection for Direct Purchase Mode

q) ATC library available for addition of terms and conditions

r) Additional Deductions can be applied by buyers at the time of bill generation

s) Notification to buyers regarding:

t) Expiry of DP (Delivery Period) for the contract

u) Initiation of cancellation of contract in case of non-delivery by sellers

v) Buyer during technical evaluation can make a MSE seller eligible or ineligible for MSE purchase

preference.

w) Now buyers get the option to cancel the Product contract(s) even if the invoice has been

generated by seller provided 15 days have expired from delivery period.

x) 11 Banks have enabled GeM Pool Account

y) To improve fair participation in Bid / RA, GeM now ensures that at least 3 sellers have

participated and offered products from at least 2 different OEMs. In case buyer wants to proceed

with less than 3 Resellers or two OEMs/Brand, they have to upload approval from Competent

Authority.
Why Sell on GeM?

a) Access to National Public Procurement market, Government departments and their organizations.

b) No charges or fee for getting registered

c) Special provisions and sections for startups, MSMEs and Emporium products

d) Fully online, paperless and contactless platform

e) Brand application and brand approval process has been revamped for sellers

f) Multiple invoice for single order

g) Easy access to participate in bids/reverse auction

h) Clock has been enabled in RA to display remaining time for seller participation

i) Online grievance redressal mechanism for quick resolution

j) All sellers will be shown reasons for rejection

k) Seller friendly dashboard for monitoring supplies & payments

l) Business Cockpit has been enhanced with additional parameters in existing report as well as new

chart widgets based on OEM and MAIT recommendations

m) Seller belonging to North East states and J & K are exempted from ITR at the time of bid

participation

n) Dynamic Pricing- Price can be changed based on market conditions

 3. EVOLUTION OF GeM

3.1. PURCHASE REDEFINED WITH GeM

PROCUREMENT THROUGH DGS&D PROCUREMENT THROUGH GeM

Registration very cumbersome with physical Registration of vendors and buyers online and

inspection and average time 4-6months integrated with AADHAR and PAN etc. Registration

within 10minutes

Limited Vendor base: about 2500-3500 suppliers Open Marketplace: 42000+ sellers ; 380+ product

in 250-300 item categories categories

Localized vendor base: NCR, Agra-Kanpur, Supplier base online from different regions. Hence

Ludhiana and Kolkata more opportunities to do business with government

Tendering involved manual rate negotiation; Totally reengineered and objective processes

resultant opacity and possible cartel formulation

Vendors, Products and price locked for years The suppliers no longer get a license t supply one

being a disadvantage to the Government model at fixed price for one full year; they have to

participate in daily biddings one GeM and compete

3.2. EVOLUTION OF GeM

The GeM initiative was launched on August 9, 2016 by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry,

Government of India and Modi government with the objective to create an open and transparent

procurement platform for government buyers.

It was created in a record time of 5 months to facilitate online procurement of Goods & Services.
The initial version of GeM portal was developed and hosted by Directorate General of Supplies and

Disposals (DGS&D) with technical support of National E-Governance Division (NeGD), Ministry of

Electronics and Information Technology.

Later on, GeM portal is being managed by GeM SPV, an organization formed by the Government for

maintenance of GeM Portal

1. GeM 1.0 was launched August 2016

2. GeM 2.0 was launched March 2017

3. GeM 3.0 was launched January 2018

4. GeM 4.0 was launched August 2020

Figure 3: Evolution of GeM Portal

3.3. GeM 3.0

GeM 3.0 was launched in January 2018 by the Ministry of Commerce & Industry. It has been envisaged as

the National Procurement Portal of India by the Government.

KEY FEATURES OF GeM 3.0:

1. GeM 3.0 offers

a) Advanced Management Information System (MIS)

b) user rating

c) e- Performance Bank Guarantee (e-PBG)

d) e-Earnest Money Deposit (e-EMD)

e) Demand aggregation

f) Template-based bidding and RA creation

g) Standardized and enriched catalogue management

h) Analytics and much more.

2. It has a powerful search engine and price comparison tool using third party sites which are real-time

and multisource.

3. Online vendor assessment and Performance-based User Rating is also available.

4. It has market based bundling and bunching of products and services.

5. It offers more Services, RA Facility & with a bid, and at the same time has Multi-Cart Functionality.

BENEFITS OF GeM 3.0:

1. Providing absolute transparent transactions for all ranges

2. Market-based generic requirements across all government agencies

3. Open and dynamic marketplace

4. Rating based on the performance of users on the website

5. Generic standards are established through universal service levels

3.4. GeM 4.0
GeM 4.0 was launched in August 2020. GeM 4.0 aims to offer a unified system that is smarter, better

unified, more intelligent and inclusive. This involves a technology roadmap that enhances each and every

step of the user experience on the portal - creating unified and seamless user journeys for buyers and sellers.

GeM 4.0 represents one of the largest uses of advanced technology on any government platform in the world

Use of cutting-edge technology such as advanced analytics, business intelligence, natural language

processing, smart contracts will play a key role in enhancing the usability and transparency on the portal. It

will also enable buyers to carry out their procurement planning and monitoring, create bids on GeM from

within their own systems and decide on what to procure from GeM

KEY FEATURES OF GeM 4.0:

1. Bid Cycle for COVID-19 related categories has been reduced to 3 days from existing 10 days. Buyers

would also be able to reduce the Delivery Period for such items to 2 days considering the time critical

nature of the items.

2. filter sellers based on Lead Time input for purchases below 5 Lacs ( L1 purchase)

3. MSE and MSE SC/ST Filter enabled on the marketplace for Direct Purchase (up to Rs. 5L)

4. Make in India Filter enabled on the marketplace for Direct Purchase (up to Rs. 5L)

5. In COVID-related categories, a restriction on price increase where a seller cannot increase their offer

price more than 20% of the lowest price in the last 30 days.

6. In a push to promote local products, GeM has made it mandatory for all the catalog owners to

mandatorily update Country of Origin information on its marketplace

7. GeM buyers may now choose to procure using a consignee based staggered delivery plan in order to

procure as per warehouse capacity and reduce wastage of perishable purchases

8. Delivery period during bid creation can be selected as 365 days (after 180 Days required approval from

CA)

9. In selected categories, Buyers can upload the required drawings

10. Exemption for Turnover and project experience can be given to startups and MSE exclusively

11. During technical evaluation, Buyer can download a comparison of technical offerings submitted by

sellers in a Bid and also can seek online clarification in case of deviation from

specification/requirement.

12. Bidders, whose Bids have been disqualified in technical evaluation may review the reason(s) for

rejection by the Buyer and raise a one-time representation to challenge the rejection for disqualification

within 48 hours after technical evaluation is completed.

13. Buyers can now send an Invite to Sellers/Service Providers who are not yet registered on GeM.

14. GeM Availability and past transaction report has been implemented for buyers. Buyers can get this

report generated for all product and category searches on GeM portal

15. Buyers can define Custom Catalogue based Bid based on their needs even when product and service

category does not exist on GeM.

16. the seller would able to generate a 'Supplementary Invoice' against the rejected quantity.

17. Integration with CPPP made GeM a unified procurement system.

3.5. INITIATIVES TAKEN BY GeM

1. The Union Minister of State for Agriculture & Farmer‟s Welfare Shri Parshottam Rupala launched

the dedicated web page for Bamboo products and quality planting materials on the GeM portal in

June 2021. The page is referred as „The Green Gold Collection‟

2. In order to help the proprietors, meet with large scale orders, GeM launched a GeM SAHAY App

in June 2021 that helps the proprietors in getting loans against their purchase orders.

3. As a part nationwide sustainability drive, GeM has announced new product category Green Room

Air Conditioners on its portal. Launched on the World Environment Day 2021 in June 2021,

GeM has onboarded sellers of Green ACs.

 4. GeM launched a dedicated page for COVID19 products in June 2021 that helped in meeting

with emergency requirements of oxygen cylinders, concentrators, kits etc

5. GeM as a mark of inclusivity, its third pillar, opened the portal for onboarding specially abled

sellers under its initiative „Divyangjan entrepreneurs‟ in June 2021

6. In December 2019, GeM launched a two-month long national outreach program called GeM

Samvaad to facilitate on-boarding of sellers while catering to specific requirements and

procurement needs of buyers.

7. GeM Start-up Runway was launched to facilitate startups in selling innovative products and

services to government users in April 2019.

8. In February 2019, GeM started an initiative called SWAYATT to promote Startups, Women and

Youth Advantage through e-Transactions on the Government e Marketplace portal. It was

launched by Suresh Prabhu, the Union Minister of Commerce & Industry and Civil Aviation

9. On January 14, 2019, the Union Government launched an initiative called 'Womaniya on

Government e Marketplace' that enables women entrepreneurs and Women Self-Help Groups to

sell handicrafts, handloom, and accessories directly to Government departments.

3.6. ACHEIVEMENTS OF GeM

 Government e Marketplace (GeM) was announced as the winner in the "Best Use of Digital

Technology" category at the CIPS Excellence in Procurement Awards 2021 (CIPS Awards).

 The company won The Hindu Business Line “Change maker Award for Digital Transformation”in

March 2020.

 In 2018, it was honored with “Digital India Platinum Award for 'Exemplary Online Service” by the

Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY).

 Government e-Marketplace was awarded the South Asia Procurement Innovation Award by the World

Bank in 2016.
 4. ANALYSIS OF GeM PORTAL STATISTICS
4.1. LATEST STATISTICS OF GeM
(As on 27th October 2021)

Buyer organizations 55,296

Sellers & Service Providers 3,019,727
Product Categories 16,462
Products 5,586,264
Service Categories 206
Service Offerings 107,300
Orders 7,923,179
Transactions Value (Cr.) 150,849

4.2. COMPARISON OF STATISTICS OF GeM (FY19-20)

Figure 4: Comparison of No. of users in GeM portal during May2019-May2020

Figure 5: Comparison of No. of Categories created

Figure 6: Comparison of No. of Products, Services & Categories during May2019-May2020

 Figure 7: Comparison of No. of Tenders executed

Figure 8: Comparison of Cumulative Orders (Value & Volume)during May 19-May20

From the above comparisons, it is evident that GeM Portal usage is constantly increasing in the public

procurement.
4.3. GeM TRANSACTIONS DURING PANDEMIC PERIOD

The following interventions have been made by GeM in connection with the fight against COVID-19:

1. Procurement cycle shortened for COVID-19 related items: Bid Cycle for COVID-19 related

categories has been reduced to 3 days from existing 10 days. Buyers would also be able to reduce the

Delivery Period for such items to 2 days considering the time critical nature of the items.

2. New business rule to stock out sellers who do not update stock within 48 hours of notification for

specific categories.

3. Priority product and brand approval for COVID-19 related categories.

4. New webpage for tracking COVID-19 categories and number of sellers

New Infrastructure categories added on GeM during Pandemic/Covid-19 Period

1. Rapid Response Mobile Diagnostic Laboratory (i-LAB)

2. Basic facility for COVID hospital

3. Temporary Hospital

4. ICU Facility / Ward for COVID 19 patients

5. Isolation Facility/Ward for asymptomatic patients

6. Isolation Facility/Ward for patients with mild symptom

Medical Auxiliary
th
(As on 27 October 2021)
Categories Categories

Total No. of Categories added (1st March 2020 onwards) 225 74

No. of Unique Products added (1st March 2020 onwards) 226,985 176,085

No. of Sellers added (1st March 2020 onwards) 41,691 42,531

No. of Unique Orders (1st March 2020 onwards) 361,897 377,741

Figure 9: Order (Value & Volume)for Medical & Auxiliary Categories from May2021 to Oct2021
Figure 10: Top 5 Medical Categories Order (Value & Volume) from March2020 onwards
Figure 11: Top 5 Auxiliary Categories Order (Value & Volume) from March2020 onwards
Figure 12: State-wise Order count from March2020 onwards
Figure 13: State-wise Order value from March2020 onwards
 5. CONCLUSION

1. GeM offers a cashless, contactless, and paperless experience for sellers and buyers, and serves as an

end-to-end solution for procurement of common use goods and services by Government buyers.

2. GeM has brought its technology-driven innovations and strategic business processes in pursuit of

three fundamental goals: driving transparency, efficiency and inclusiveness in public procurement.

3. The design and development of the GeM platform- its digital features and functionalities, key

business processes as well as the ancillary offline activities like outreach and training of

stakeholders-is guided by these three goals.

4. The use of forward-looking technologies has helped GeM to broadly achieve these goals and more,

over the past five years..

5. GeM has completely replaced a previously fragmented public procurement ecosystem by a unified

and easy-to-use e-marketplace helping to leverage competitiveness, accessibility, and economies of

scale of a diverse, open and transparent procurement system.

6. GeM becomes India‟s first e-commerce portal to hit a mega milestone of transaction value crosses

Rs 1 trillion

7. GeM is an example of how digital platforms created with a strategic and clear intent to

transform legacy processes can effect lasting change.

 6. BIBLIOGRAPHY

[1] https://blogs.worldbank.org/governance/how-government-e-marketplace-revolutionizing-procurement-
india
[2] https://www.indiatoday.in/pti-feed/story/spv-to-operate-government-e-marketplace-portal-for-purchases-
907356-2017-04-12
[3] https://yourstory.com/2016/08/indian-govt-e-marketplace/
[4] https://www.livemint.com/Politics/bCIm1uXvObSFVImfU3PvJM/Public-procurement-can-boost-
innovation.html
[5] http://www.navhindtimes.in/local-business-keen-on-coming-on-board/
[6] http://www.navhindtimes.in/the-state-has-to-take-the-initiative-to-popularize-gem/
[7] https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/275379
[8] https://www.msn.com/en-gb/health/mindandbody/arun-jaitleys-2016-budget-speech/vi-BBq8A7V
[9] https://yourstory.com/2016/06/government-portal-procurements/
[10] National Mission E-Book published by the Indian Government, accessible at https://assets-
bg.gem.gov.in/resources/pdf/national-mission-report.pdf
[11] http://www.ijcrt.org/papers/IJCRT1704123.pdf
[12]https://doe.gov.in/sites/default/files/Manual%20for%20Procurement%20of%20Goods%202017_0_0.pdf
[13] Official twitter account of GeM India, https://twitter.com/GeM_India
[14] Official government website for GeM, https://gem.gov.in/
[15] https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/startups-want-government-e-market-to-list-
their-services-give-business/articleshow/67017932.cms
[16] https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/policy/government-mandates-preference-to-india-
made-vehicles-in-public-procurement/articleshow/67009970.cms
[17] https://govinsider.asia/inclusive-gov/radha-chauhan-ceo-government-e-marketplace-india/
[18] https://www.financialexpress.com/economy/womaniya-on-gem-govt-initiative-to-enable-women-
entrepreneurs-to-sell-items-online/1443636/
[19] http://www.uniindia.com/prabhu-launches-swayatt-on-gem/business-economy/news/1504967.html
[20] https://medium.com/mojoverse-the-business-weekly/government-e-marketplace-gem-everything-
msmes-need-to-know-4ed4234afbd9
[21] https://yourstory.com/2019/06/startup-india-gem-portal-orders-dpiit-secretary
[22] https://www.business-standard.com/article/economy-policy/public-procurement-from-gem-portal-
crosses-rs-1-trillion-says-ceo-121032800295_1.html
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