New Delhi: India is preparing to roll out global procurement functions on the digital trading portal of the government that allows both British companies and all other global companies To offer on government substances, a senior official said.
The relocation to the Portal of the Government E-Marketplace (GEM) follows the successful conclusion of negotiations for the India-Uk Free Trade Agreement (FTA).
These functions are currently not available on the platform, used by agencies of the national and central government to buy and sell goods and services. Once introduced, they will enable British and other foreign suppliers to participate in tenders that drive the Indian buyers of the Indian government.
Read also | £ 3.5 trillion purchasing in FY24 “> Gem Portal set to break records with £3.5 Biljoen Purchasing in FY24
The global procurement function will open the Platform for international suppliers, while an option enables an option 'Tarief Contract' option to purchase Government and Services at advance prices for a fixed endurance-varying from three months to a year-worth offering the need for repeated executive officer (CEO) Mihir.
“We are working on it, and these functions will be added to the GEM portal in the coming months,” said Kumar. He did not specify a timeline for the rollout.
Currently, the purchase of global goods and services is carried out by the government directly by individual departments, which themselves enter into contracts with foreign suppliers. These transactions are done outside the GEM portal, because the platform currently does not support a global tender.
According to a policy document from the British government, India has granted “legally guaranteed access” to its enormous government contract market under the FTA. This will enable British companies to offer around 40,000 Indian government substances annually, with an estimated £ 38 billion.
Read also | Swipe card, scan QR? Buying on UPI can become cheaper
However, Economic Think Tank Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) has warned that allowing British companies to participate in the purchasing of the central government in India, possibly transfer Indian micro, small and medium-sized companies (MSMEs) (MSMEs), which are highly dependent on pre-frequent access to such contracts. The British step follows a similar agreement with the VAE.
“According to the deal, British companies can offer on Indian tenders, and which will be classified with at least 20% British content as class 2 local suppliers under India's make in India policy. This is extending the preferential treatment, originally intended for domestic companies,” Ajay Srivastava, said co-founder, told.
What is a tariff contract?
A tariff contract is an agreement between a buyer and a seller to deliver goods or services for a fixed price for a specific period. As soon as the contract is in force, the seller must deliver the articles at the agreed rate, even if market prices increase during the contract period.
Purchasing via the GEM portal is mandatory for all ministries and departments of the central government.
The platform is aimed at worth transactions £7 trillion in 2025-26, from above £5.42 trillion in 2024-25. Currently, 40-50% of the annual public procurement is carried out via gem.
Read also | India weighs the resumption of wheat product export after record output estimates
“We will concentrate on states this year. We must increase the footprint of states,” said Kumar, adding that the platform now has more than 164,000 primary buyers and 42,000 active sellers, with more than 10,000 product categories and more than 330 services.
He said jewel is looking at a number of large -scale tenders, including £5,000 crore of equipment for the Akash rocket system £5,085 crore for vaccines.
The platform also supports specialized services such as drone-as-a-service for the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), geographical information systems and insurance solutions that cover more than 13 million lives, as well as wet leasing of chartered flights and CT-Scanners-Die have adjustment.