In an attempt to boost Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “Aatmanirbhar Bharat” and “Make in India” push, the union government’s GeM has made it mandatory for sellers to mention “country of origin” on products they wish to sell through the procurement platform, as per a statement released by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on her twitter handle.
The Government E-Market (GeM) has taken this significant step to promote Make in India and Aatmanirbhar Bharat. It has also enabled a provision for indication of the percentage of local content in products.
With this new feature, the “country of origin” and local content per centage are visible in the marketplace for all items.
Sellers, who had already uploaded their products before the introduction of this new feature on GeM, are being reminded regularly to update the “country of origin,” with a warning that their products would be removed from GeM if they fail to update the same.
Modi has been emphasising on the need to make India self reliant by investing in domestic products and push country’s Make in India cause.
The purchases through GeM by Government users have been authorised and made mandatory by Ministry of Finance by adding a new Rule No. 149 in the General Financial Rules, 2017.
The marketplace has facilitated entry of small local sellers in public procurement, while implementing Make in India and MSE Purchase Preference Policies of the Government in the true sense.
GeM is enabling quick, efficient, transparent and cost-effective procurement, especially in this hour of need when government organizations require products and services urgently to fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.
Buyers can choose to buy only those products that meet the minimum 50 per cent local content criteria. In the case of bids, buyers can reserve any bid for Class I Local suppliers. For those bids below Rs 200 crore, only Class I and Class II Local Suppliers are eligible to bid, with Class I supplier getting purchase preference.
