Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal on 11 August said an AI-driven Government-e-Marketplace (GeM) platform would empower buyers and sellers to make smarter use of procurement processes and emerging technologies, making public procurement more efficient, cost-effective, transparent and competitive. He was addressing the 10th Foundation Day celebration of GeM in New Delhi.

Key Announcements at the Foundation Day

Goyal stressed the need to strengthen last-mile access through GeM's Suvidha Kendras by expanding registration, cataloguing, training and grievance redressal across districts. He also called for deeper deployment of Artificial Intelligence for price intelligence, price sanity and marketplace integrity.

The minister urged integration of states, public enterprises, panchayats and cooperatives into a seamless national procurement ecosystem. He also highlighted the need for greater focus on credit and sustainability through scaling GeM Sahay and TReDS linkages, and called for university outreach to attract young innovators and new buyers onto the platform.

GeM by the Numbers: A Decade of Scale

GeM now hosts a community of more than 25 lakh sellers and over 1.37 lakh buyer organisations. The platform has facilitated cumulative procurement of over ₹20 lakh crore through more than 3.78 crore orders.

Of these, 12.28 lakh Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs) have fulfilled orders worth more than ₹9 lakh crore, accounting for 45.6% of cumulative Gross Merchandise Value (GMV). More than 2.24 lakh women-led MSEs have fulfilled over 50 lakh orders valued at more than ₹1 lakh crore, while 42,242 startups have secured orders worth more than ₹65,633 crore.

New Helpline and Milestone Launches

GeM launched a dedicated nationwide five-digit short code '14550' for its help desk, making it easier for buyers, sellers and stakeholders to access support and identify official GeM communications. A customised My Stamp and a GeM booklet were also unveiled to mark the milestone.

GeM Chief Executive Officer Mihir Kumar said at the event: 'We are proud of how far we have come. Yet what truly defines GeM is not only the scale we have achieved, but the spirit with which we continue to improve — listening, refining and remaining responsive to the needs of those who use the platform.'

Goyal's Broader Vision

In a post on X, Goyal said: 'At the function, I also launched the customised My Stamp, 5-digit Short Code, and the GeM booklet to mark the milestone. In my address, I congratulated all stakeholders, including MSMEs, women, artisans, and others, for the glorious decade, as 10 years ago GeM changed the way the Indian government buys.'

This comes amid a broader government push to digitise and streamline public procurement, reduce leakages and bring informal sellers into the formal supply chain. With AI integration now on the roadmap, GeM's next phase is set to move from scale to intelligence.