GeM to be integrated with Indian Railways' e-procurement system: Official

Government e-Marketplace (GeM) and Indian Railways' e-procurement system are working on ways to integrate both the platforms with a view to further widen the ambit of the Commerce Ministry's portal by enhancing its buying and selling process, a senior official said on Sunday.

The official said that currently a feasibility assessment is going on for integration of government procurement portal GeM with Indian Railway Electronic Procurement System (IRePS) and Integrated Material Management System (iMMS).

"This is a technical integration. It will also help in creating a uniform procurement system. We are looking at the possibility of integration. We are doing the assessment first and then we will integrate," the official from Commerce Ministry added.

After assessment of integration of the platforms, Railways and GeM will decide the further course of action for completion of the process.

Explaining the integration process, the official said "we will build a bridge between the platforms. Whatever data Railways use for publishing bid on its e-procurement system, that data can be used to create bid as per market-place model of GeM".

GeM is working on a series of steps to further improve buying and selling process for ministries, departments and other agencies.

The Commerce Ministry launched the online platform for public procurement in August 2016 with the objective of creating an open and transparent procurement platform for the government.

Currently, government departments, ministries, public sector units, state governments, and Central Armed Police Forces are allowed to carry out transactions through GeM.

GeM is coming up with a more dynamic, transformational and vibrant portal by adding advanced features such as powerful search engine, revamped brand and product approval process and faster creation of categories for goods and services through tender analysis.

The portal provides a wide range of products from office stationery to vehicles.

Automobiles, computers and office furniture are currently the top product categories. Services, including transportation, logistics, waste management, web casting and analytical are listed on the portal.

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Currently, 4,20,403 sellers and service providers are registered with the portal to sell 20,40,768 products and several services.