|
The Government e-Marketplace (GeM) hosted a day-long boot camp, GeM Seller Samvad 2024 Uttarakhand, at the IRDT Auditorium, Dehradun, focusing on empowering local entrepreneurs, Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs), and sellers.
According to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, the initiative, aligned with GeM's inclusivity pillar, aimed to address challenges faced by Uttarakhand-based sellers and encourage wider adoption of the digital procurement platform. The event saw the enthusiastic participation of over 60 sellers and service providers from the region. Comprehensive training sessions were organized to familiarize stakeholders with the platform's features, functionalities, and digital capabilities. Key milestones in the seller journey were highlighted, and a dedicated Q&A session resolved queries in real-time. A GeM helpdesk was operational during the event to provide immediate support, and a registration drive successfully onboarded new sellers and service providers to the platform. Uttarakhand boasts nearly 20,000 sellers and service providers registered on GeM, including over 10,500 Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs) and more than 1,900 women-led enterprises. These sellers have fulfilled orders worth over Rs8,950 crore for government buyers nationwide as of December 11, 2024. Notably, ~5 per cent of this business is contributed by the state's MSEs, underscoring their critical role in the ecosystem. The Seller Samvad focused on expanding GeM's outreach and enhancing capacity-building measures in Uttarakhand. AV Muralidharan, Chief Buyer Officer (State), highlighted the importance of such initiatives, stating, "Such initiatives are pertinent in spreading awareness and bolstering the digital capabilities of the region's sellers & service providers." Through such initiatives, GeM aims to eliminate traditional procurement barriers, empowering local entrepreneurs with the tools and knowledge required to leverage tech-driven infrastructure for business-to-government opportunities. Established in 2016 as part of the Prime Minister's vision for Minimum Government, Maximum Governance, the Government e-Marketplace is a unified digital platform enabling the seamless procurement of goods and services for central ministries, state departments, public sector enterprises, panchayats, and cooperatives. GeM continues to revolutionize public procurement by fostering transparency, efficiency, and inclusivity in the process. (ANI)
|
