The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi has approved the following proposals:
i. Expanding the mandate of Government e Marketplace – Special Purpose Vehicle (GeM – SPV) to allow procurement by Cooperatives as Buyers.
ii.Relaxation in educational qualification for the post of Constable to recruit native tribal youth as Constables in CRPF through recruitment rally from the interior areas of Bijapur, Dantewada and Sukma districts of Chhattisgarh State.
Cabinet Approved Expanding the Mandate of GeM – SPV To Allow Procurement by Cooperatives as Buyers
The Union Cabinet has approved a proposal to expand the mandate of the Government e Marketplace-Special Purpose Vehicle (GeM-SPV) to allow cooperatives as buyers platform. This move will support cooperatives in getting competitive prices.
- So far, the platform is open to all government buyers, including central and state ministries, departments, public sector enterprises, autonomous institutions, and local governments
- GeM is not open to private sector buyers under the current mandate, although suppliers (sellers) can come from government or private sector.
This initiative would help more than 8.54 lakh registered cooperatives in India and its 27 crore members who will be able to buy products and services on the platform.
Government e Marketplace – Special Purpose Vehicle (GeM – SPV)
i. The Ministry of Commerce and Industry, established the Government e Marketplace (GeM) on August 9, 2016 to create an open and transparent procurement platform for government buyers.
- On May 17th, 2017, Government e-Marketplace – Special Purpose Vehicle (GeM SPV) was established as the National Public Procurement Portal, following the approval of the Union Cabinet on April 12th, 2017.
ii.Since its inception, the GeM SPV has achieved great progress. From FY 2018-19 to FY 2021-22, the Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) increased at a CAGR of nearly 84.5%.
- In FY 2021-22, the portal saw a 178 % growth in GMV, surpassing Rs. 1 lakh crore for the first time, which is higher than the cumulative GMV till FY 2020-21.
Functionality of the Government e- Marketplace (GeM)
i. GeM serves as a one-stop portal for online procurement of common use Goods and Services. It is based on three pillars: inclusion, transparency, and efficiency, as well as economies of scale and procurement speed. GeM will now allow cooperative societies to purchase goods and services.
- GeM will offer the cooperatives, a dedicated onboarding procedure, and the technical infrastructure to support more users on the existing platform.
ii.The Ministry of Cooperation, in consultation with GeM SPV, will decide on the validated list of cooperatives to be onboarded on GeM – for pilot and subsequent scale-up. It ensures that the GeM system’s technical capacity and logistics needs are properly considered.
- The Ministry of Cooperation will issue necessary advisories to encourage cooperative societies to adopt the GeM platform for procurement of goods and services.
iii. GeM will decide on the modalities of payment systems in consultation with the Ministry of Cooperation in order to protect the interests of the broader seller community on GeM and ensure timely payments.
Implementation strategy and targets:
i. GeM will take appropriate steps, such as adding necessary features and functionalities to the GeM portal, upgrading infrastructure, enhancing the helpdesk and training ecosystem, and onboarding cooperatives, among other things.
ii.The Ministry of Cooperation would determine the overall pace and mechanism of the rollout. The Ministry of Cooperation and GeM(Ministry of Commerce and Industry)will work together to set milestones and target dates.
iii. GeM may charge cooperatives an appropriate transaction fee to cover the incremental costs, which will be set in mutual cooperation with the Ministry of Cooperation. These fees cannot be higher than those charged by GeM to other government buyers.
Note:
- According to the World Bank and the National Economic Survey 2021, GeM’s capacity to pool more participation and provide cost-effective solutions resulted in significant savings.
- In India, the cooperative movement has evolved tremendously, and it now plays a critical role in meeting the developmental requirements of India’s underprivileged sections, particularly in the agricultural, banking, and housing sectors.
E-Concurrence Module Launched on Government e-Marketplace (GeM) for Ministry of Defence
The Government e-Marketplace (GeM) has developed an IT (Information Technology) module for the Ministry of Defence (MoD) to integrate competent financial authorities and Internal Financial Advisers (IFA) for online e-concurrence and approval of procurement proposals on the GeM portal.
Rajnish Kumar, Controller General of Defence Accounts (CGDA) launched the integration module in the presence of Prashant Kumar Singh, CEO of GeM, at the Defence Accounts Department Headquarters in New Delhi, Delhi.
- The module was developed by GeM using the MoD’s Business Process Reengineering (BPR)-based procedural inputs.
- For Fiscal Year (FY) 2021-22, the MoD’s procurement through the GeM platform achieved an all-time high of Rs 15,047.98 crore, which is more than 250% from FY 2020-21.
Cabinet Relaxes Education Qualification for CRPF Constable Recruitment From 3 Districts of Chhattisgarh
The Union Cabinet, chaired by PM Narendra Modi, has approved a proposal by the Ministry of Home Affairs to relax the minimum educational qualification from 10th class pass to 8th class pass for the recruitment of 400 candidates as Constables (General Duty) in the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) from three districts in South Chhattisgarh: Bijapur, Dantewada, and Sukma.
- The CRPF is one of the Central Armed Police Forces, with primary responsibilities for maintaining law and order, combating insurgency, and ensuring internal security.
Key Points:
i. The CRPF would then provide formal education to newly recruited trainees during their probation period.
ii.Only after obtaining the required minimum educational qualification of a standard 10th pass would tribal youths be confirmed in service.
- As a result, these recruits will receive formal education, and the CRPF will provide all available support, including study materials, books, and coaching assistance, throughout their probation period.
iii. If necessary, the probation term may be extended to allow new recruits to get the required education qualification.
- In order to take the 10th class exam, they must register with the National Institute of Open Schools, which is recognised by the Central and State governments.
Note:
- During 2016-2017, the CRPF raised a Bastariya Battalion in Chhattisgarh by recruiting Scheduled Tribe people from four districts: Bijapur, Dantewada, Narayanpur, and Sukma.
- It did not produce the expected result, as the native youngsters lacked the required educational qualification of a 10th class pass.
About Ministry of Cooperation:
Union Minister – Amit Shah (Gandhi Nagar Constituency, Gujarat)
Minister of State (MoS) – B. L. Verma (Rajya Sabha – Uttar Pradesh)
