Union Cabinet allows procurement by cooperatives through GeM portal

The move will help over 8.54 lakh registered cooperatives and their 27 crore members

The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved a proposal to expand the mandate of Government e-Marketplace (GeM) by allowing procurement by cooperatives.

Presently, the registration of cooperatives as buyers was not covered within the existing mandate of GeM.

The move will help over 8.54 lakh registered cooperatives and their 27 crore members as they would get products at competitive rates from the GeM portal.

These cooperatives will be benefitted from this decision, Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur told reporters.

As per the existing mandate, goods and services registered at the GeM portal are not available for use by private sector buyers. Suppliers (sellers) can be from across all segments - government or private.

The decision was taken by the Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The GeM was launched on August 9, 2016, by the Commerce Ministry to create an open and transparent procurement platform for government buyers. At present, the platform is open for procurement by all government buyers -- central and state ministries, departments, public sector enterprises, autonomous institutions and local bodies.