THE State of Chhattisgarh has been conferred the GeM Sustainable Procurement Award at the 10th Foundation Day celebrations of the Government eMarketplace (GeM) held in New Delhi on Monday. The award was presented in the presence of Chief Guest Piyush Goyal, Union Minister for Commerce and Industry, at a ceremony marking a decade of GeM under the theme, ‘GeM 10: A Decade of Exponential Possibilities’. The award, under the Premier Awards – State Government Felicitation category, recognises Chhattisgarh’s sustained efforts towards GeM adoption and the growth in both the value and volume of procurement through the platform. According to the official sources, the competitive bidding through GeM helped the State save Rs 130 crore in FY 2025- 26. The savings represent the difference between departments’ estimated procurement costs and prices discovered through open bidding among qualified sellers. Open bidding, standardised specifications and an auditable record of transactions have strengthened transparency in the procurement process. Over the past three financial years, competitive bidding through GeM has helped the State exchequer save Rs 235 crore.

 

Procurement specifications are reviewed periodically to maintain quality and keep pace with the expanding range of goods and services purchased by the State. Chhattisgarh’s procurement through GeM rose to Rs 3,935 crore in FY 2025-26, registering a 113% increase over the previous year. The growth follows efforts to consolidate departmental purchasing and bring departments, corporations and local bodies onto a common platform where purchases are subject to transparent price discovery and an auditable procurement process. Orders placed with micro and small enterprises (MSEs) rose 61% to Rs 1,800 crore in FY 2025-26, well above the mandated 25% MSE procurement target. Procurement from women entrepreneurs grew 97%, while orders from SC/ST entrepreneurs increased 108%. Start-ups recorded the highest growth among supplier categories, with procurement rising 178%. “For enterprises across Chhattisgarh, GeM offers a direct route to government demand without intermediaries. Women entrepreneurs, SC/ST-owned enterprises and startups have each recorded their strongest year yet on the platform, and start-ups have grown faster than any other category of supplier. An open marketplace offers a single point of entry, where a supplier’s capability decides the outcome rather than their proximity to a department. Sustaining that access, and widening it further, is what the State intends to build on", said the Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai.