Government buying was long a paper-heavy process of tenders and approvals that few small suppliers could navigate. The Government e-Marketplace (GeM) was launched on 9 August 2016 by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry as a single online marketplace for public procurement, and in May 2017 a dedicated company, GeM SPV, was set up to run it as the National Public Procurement Portal.
GeM · Government e-Marketplace
GeM · Government e-Marketplace
The Government e-Marketplace puts public purchasing online. Launched in August 2016, GeM lets ministries, states and public bodies buy goods and services through open, transparent processes, and lets any registered seller, from a large company to a village enterprise, compete for those orders. Annual orders grew from ₹422 crore in 2016-17 to more than ₹5 lakh crore in both 2024-25 and 2025-26, and cumulative orders have passed ₹20 lakh crore. The counter shows annual order value.
25.45 lakh
Sellers with completed profiles
68%
Orders fulfilled by small businesses (FY26)
₹99,147 cr+
Orders to women-led small businesses
Annual order value on GeM
| Year | Annual order value on GeM |
|---|---|
| 2021 | 0.39 ₹ lakh cr |
| 2022 | 1.07 ₹ lakh cr |
| 2023 | 2.01 ₹ lakh cr |
| 2024 | 4.00 ₹ lakh cr |
| 2025 | 5.40 ₹ lakh cr |
2021
0.00₹ lakh cr
Annual order value on GeM
20212025
Since 2021
Added
+5.01 ₹ lakh cr
2021
0.39 ₹ lakh cr
2025
5.40 ₹ lakh cr
Why it matters Buying in the open, online, lowers prices and leaves less room for favouritism, and it gives small businesses, women entrepreneurs and startups a fair chance at government orders that were once hard for them to reach.
- Annual order value: ₹422 crore (2016-17) → over ₹5 lakh crore (2024-25 and 2025-26).
- Cumulative orders passed ₹20 lakh crore, through more than 3.78 crore orders (August 2026).
- 25.45 lakh sellers with completed profiles, including 12.25 lakh micro and small enterprises.
- In 2025-26, micro and small enterprises fulfilled 68% of orders, worth 47.1% of the total value.
- 42,242 startups have won orders worth more than ₹65,633 crore.
- A World Bank study found average savings of 9.75% on the median price (February 2019 to January 2020).
History
Notable milestone
Cumulative orders reached ₹1 lakh crore in March 2021, after four and a half years, and GeM then did ₹1 lakh crore in a single year in 2021-22. Annual orders passed ₹4 lakh crore in 2023-24 and ₹5 lakh crore in 2024-25, with 18 days of the year still to go. In August 2026, its tenth year, cumulative orders crossed ₹20 lakh crore: the first ₹10 lakh crore took more than eight years, the next less than two.
How it works
Buyers from ministries, states and public-sector bodies, and since 2022 cooperatives too, post what they need, and registered sellers compete for the orders entirely online. Womaniya (2019) brings women entrepreneurs and self-help groups onto the platform, and SWAYATT (2019) does the same for startups and other new sellers. Orders up to ₹10 lakh carry no transaction charge, so 97% of all orders now attract no fee.
Outlook
An IIT Delhi study found lower prices on GeM for 74.3% of items, with a spend-weighted saving of 13.6%. With micro and small enterprises fulfilling 68% of orders, and women-led businesses and startups winning a growing share, GeM is becoming a routine way for India's public sector to buy.
By the numbers
₹422 crore → ₹5 lakh crore+ annual orders (2016-17 → 2024-25 and 2025-26). ₹20 lakh crore+ cumulative, across 3.78 crore+ orders (August 2026). 25.45 lakh sellers, including 12.25 lakh MSEs. 68% of orders fulfilled by MSEs (2025-26). ₹99,147 crore+ in orders to women-led MSEs; ₹65,633 crore+ to startups. Sources: Ministry of Commerce and Industry, GeM, PIB.
Data current to: August 2026
Source: Ministry of Commerce & Industry / GeM via PIB — GeM gross merchandise value per financial year (₹ lakh crore), FY2020-21 to FY2024-25; FY24 and FY25 as rounded in official releases. · link