The Government has taken various measures to ensure that Government e- Marketplace (GeM) remains an inclusive and accessible platform for small and women-led enterprises. Some of these include:

Provision of Marketplace filters and product catalogue icons to distinguish product catalogues by women entrepreneurs in Direct Purchase/ L1 mode of procurement.

Forward market linkages for Women, Startups, Self Help Groups, Artisans & Weavers, One District One Product (ODOP), Farmers Producer Organisation (FPOs) etc. through the creation of 8 “vocalforlocal” GeM Outlet Stores.

Application Programming Interface (API) integration with Udyam MSME database for 2-step seller auto-registration on the GeM platform.

Strategic relationships through Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs) with key players namely; Laghu Udyog Bharati, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry Ladies Organization (FLO), Self Employed Women's Association (SEWA) among others from the Industry, Government and Not-for-profit sector.

Participation in Industry exhibitions, fairs, roadshows and events, etc., held at India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO)/ India Exposition Mart Limited(IELM)

Immersive Onboarding (from seller registration to product catalogue upload on the portal) of sellers, catalogue success stories of sellers for enhanced interest and engagement among prospective sellers.

35 Weekly Seller Onboarding Workshops conducted with MSME Organizations such as Laghu Udyog Bharati, Amazon Saheli, National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM), FICCI, Association of Lady Entrepreneurs of India (ALEAP) among others in current financial year.

As an end-to-end online marketplace, GeM complies with the relevant provisos of extant Government rules, regulations and guidelines governing public procurement. In line with the above, certain affirmative actions as mentioned below have been taken by GeM in respect of (a) Women led Micro & Small Enterprises, & (b) Startups

GeM provides marketplace filters and product catalogue icons to distinguish product catalogues by Women Entrepreneurs in Direct Purchase/ L1 mode of procurement, providing visibility and accessibility thereby facilitating compliance with the Public Procurement Policy for Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs) Order, 2012 (as amended from time to time) by Government Buyers.

Startups recognized by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) can avail benefits such as exemption from Earnest Money Deposit (EMD) submission, exemption from prior turnover and prior experience on the GeM portal. GeM has created necessary functionality on GeM portal allowing buyers to provide such exemptions while creating the bids on the portal.

This information was given by the Minister of State for the Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Shri Jitin Prasada, in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha today.

Inclusion measures for women-led and small enterprises enhance GeM procurement access via visibility tools and startup exemptions. GeM implements targeted measures to increase participation of women-led and small enterprises by introducing marketplace filters and product-catalogue icons for women entrepreneurs in Direct Purchase/L1 procurement, creating outlet stores for priority beneficiary groups, integrating an API with the Udyam MSME database for two-step auto-registration, and enabling buyers to apply DPIIT-recognised startup exemptions such as waiver of Earnest Money Deposit and prior turnover/experience when creating bids.