Government e-Marketplace (GeM) has introduced a global tender inquiry feature, enabling overseas suppliers to participate in government bids, as India seeks to leverage free trade agreements (FTAs) such as the one with the UK to boost cross-border commerce, its chief executive officer (CEO) Mihir Kumar said.
The public procurement platform now supports multi-currency bidding, and is tightening oversight of listings and seller behaviour using data analytics, even as transactions in FY26 fell due to a decline in procurement by the ministry of coal amid lower demand for mine development and operations services.
“The global tender enquiry functionality has been created to cater to buyer requirements and also in the context of FTAs such as with the UK, where UK suppliers can access the domestic market and Indian sellers can explore opportunities in the UK market," Kumar told Mint in an interview. "We studied the rules and regulations governing global tender inquiry and developed this functionality so that overseas sellers can interact with the portal, register, and participate in bidding.”
The Government e-Marketplace (GeM) enhances transparency in public procurement by digitising the entire process, standardising bidding procedures, enabling real-time price discovery through competitive tools like e-bidding and reverse auctions, and creating complete digital audit trails that significantly reduce human discretion and opportunities for corruption. Participation in government procurement often features in bilateral trade negotiations because it opens access to large public-sector markets.
The gross merchandise value (GMV) on the GeM portal fell 7.4% to ₹5.03 trillion in FY26, from ₹5.43 trillion in FY25.
“There is a degrowth of 7.4 % in FY26 with respect to FY 24-25 due to the absence of unique/ sporadic procurement. However, the cumulative GMV of ₹18.4 lakh crore (since its inception in 2016) reflects the sustained confidence of buyers, sellers and institutions in a transparent and technology-driven ecosystem improving public procurement. GeM continues to enable efficient and inclusive procurement at scale,” Kumar said.
Gross merchandise value refers to the total value of all goods and services procured through the platform over a given period. It serves as a key indicator of the overall scale and volume of public procurement activity facilitated by this online marketplace for government buyers in India.
Kumar added that the decline in GMV in FY26 was due to a lower contribution from the coal ministry, whose share in total sales stood at ₹1.02 trillion, falling from 34% to 20%. Coal India Ltd procured goods and services worth ₹82,285 crore through the platform during the year.
“No, the present crisis has no connection with the gross merchandise value on the portal. These are routine procurement activities, and purchases are continuing as usual,” he added.
On concerns related to the irregularities on the platform, Kumar said that GeM is closely monitoring prices and product listings. “We check whether prices are abnormally high or low and whether product specifications and catalog details are appropriate. We have denied listing of about 10.5 lakh offerings. We have also reviewed around 19 lakh catalogs and removed approximately 91,000 catalogs after review. In addition, we are working on suspected cases of cartelisation using AI and machine learning tools to analyse data and identify cases that require investigation,” he added.
He said that every buyer now has a dashboard that clearly shows pending payments, including those due to micro and small enterprises. “Similar dashboards are available at the level of Secretaries, additional secretaries and financial advisors in ministries. This information is also monitored at higher levels, ensuring closer oversight of payment timelines,” he added.
Kumar added that more than 11 lakh small enterprises are registered on the platform and they received over 51 lakh orders worth ₹2.36 trillion in FY26.