PositiveNewsCorner

The government procurement portal GeM has made it mandatory for sellers to mention ‘country of origin’ on products they wish to sell through the platform. This move will help promote Aatma Nirbhar Bharat (Self-reliant India).

Government e-Marketplace (GEM) has also enabled a provision for indication of the percentage of local content in products with a view to promote Make in India.

CEO of the portal Talleen Kumar said “GeM has taken a significant step towards Aatma Nirbhar Bharat and has made it mandatory for sellers to enter the country of origin while registering all new products on GeM. 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 will be “removed” from the platform if they fail to update the same.”

“With this new feature, now, the country of origin as well as the local content percentage are visible in the marketplace for all items. More importantly, the Make in India filter has now been enabled on the portal. Buyers can choose to buy only those products that meet the minimum 50 per cent local content criteria,” he said.

Tallen said that since its inception, GeM is continuously working towards promoting ‘Make in India’ initiative and the portal has facilitated entry of small local sellers in public procurement.

Earlier this month, the government modified public procurement norms to give maximum preference to companies whose goods and services have 50 per cent or more local content, a move aimed at promoting ”Make in India” and making the
country self-reliant.

GeM is also 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.

Government departments, agencies and public sector units can now procure products made by tribal communities from the GeM portal as it has added over 4,000 such items, including paintings, handmade showpieces and statues.

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.