GeM at ₹18 lakh crore: how online procurement is changing government tenders
The Government e-Marketplace has become the main route for public buying in India. For small businesses it has opened doors; for buyers it has added transparency. The next challenge is quality.
When I joined the civil service, government buying meant paper tenders, sealed envelopes and long lists of approved suppliers. It was slow, and it favoured those who knew how the system worked. The Government e-Marketplace (GeM), launched in 2016, set out to change that.
A decade on, the numbers show how far it has come. By the end of 2025-26, GeM's cumulative gross merchandise value had crossed ₹18.4 lakh crore, with more than ₹5 lakh crore in that year alone.
Who is winning
The most striking change is who supplies the government. Micro and small enterprises carried out about 68 per cent of all orders on GeM and accounted for about 47 per cent of its value. More than 11 lakh small enterprises are registered. Women-led small businesses received orders worth over ₹28,000 crore, and startups over ₹19,000 crore.
For a small manufacturer in Kanpur or Guwahati, this matters. Selling to a ministry in Delhi or a public sector company across the country no longer needs an office in the capital or a long relationship. It needs a good product, a fair price and a properly completed listing.
How transparency has improved
- Prices and order histories are visible, which makes inflated quotes easier to spot
- Bids, evaluations and payments are recorded in one system, creating an audit trail
- Standard terms reduce the room for tailor-made conditions that favour one bidder
- Analytics and AI tools help flag unusual patterns in bidding and pricing
What still needs work
Transparency in the process does not automatically mean value for money. Three issues come up repeatedly with buyers and sellers:
- Lowest price versus best value. The pressure to accept the cheapest compliant offer can push out better-quality suppliers, especially for services and technology.
- Product specifications. Vague or poorly written specifications still decide many outcomes. Good buying starts with a good description of what is needed.
- Delivery and payment discipline. Small suppliers depend on being paid on time. The platform's credibility rests on buyers honouring timelines as strictly as sellers must.
For companies selling to government, the lesson is simple: treat GeM as the main shop window. Keep listings accurate, read bid conditions carefully, and invest in quality certifications that buyers can check. For government departments, the next step is to use GeM's data not just to buy, but to buy better.