Procurement by cooperatives via GeM gets nod
Premium- The cooperatives to be onboarded on GeM for pilot and scale up will be decided by the ministry of cooperation
The Union cabinet on Wednesday approved expanding the mandate of the Government e Marketplace-Special Purpose Vehicle (GeM-SPV) to allow procurement by cooperatives.
So far, the platform has been open for procurement by government buyers, central and state ministries, departments, public sector enterprises, autonomous institutions and local bodies.
Wednesday’s decision makes more than 854,000 registered cooperatives eligible to buy products and services on the platform, Union minister for information and broadcasting Anurag Thakur said in a press briefing.
The decision will help bring transparency and allow cooperatives to get competitive prices for products, the minister said.
The move will benefit the 270 million members associated with cooperatives, according to the government. “...Procurement through GeM would not only economically benefit the common man, but would also enhance the credibility of cooperatives," it said.
GeM was launched in August 2016 by the ministry of commerce and industry to create an open and transparent procurement platform for government buyers. GeM SPV was set up as the national public procurement portal in May 2017.
The list of cooperatives to be onboarded on GeM for a pilot and subsequent scale-up will be decided by the ministry of cooperation in consultation with GeM SPV.
“This will ensure that technical capacity and logistics requirement of the GeM system are taken into account while deciding the pace of on boarding of cooperative as buyers on GeM," it said.
GeM will provide a dedicated onboarding process for cooperatives, provide the technical infrastructure to support additional users on the existing portal, and provide assistance to cooperatives for onboarding and transaction journeys, through available contact centres, in-field training and other support services.
The ministry of cooperation will issue advisories to encourage cooperative societies to make use of the GeM platform for procurement of goods and services to benefit from increased transparency, efficiency, and competitive prices.
Further, to protect the interests of the broader seller community on GeM and ensure timely payments, the modalities of payment systems shall be decided by GeM in consultation with the ministry.
In another decision, the union cabinet approved relaxation in educational qualifications to recruit native tribal youths for the post of constable in CRPF, through recruitment rallies in the interior areas of Bijapur, Dantewada and Sukma districts of Chhattisgarh.
The required minimum educational qualification has been lowered from 10th standard pass to 8th standard for the recruitment of 400 candidates as constable (general duty) in CRPF in the three districts. Appropriate relaxation in physical standards for recruitment will also be given by the ministry of home affairs, said a statement.