Centre hails UP's public procurement reforms via GeM

The Central Government has applauded the Uttar Pradesh government for its exemplary performance in public procurement through the Government e-Marketplace (GeM), describing it as a role model for other states.

The appreciation came in a formal letter written by Union Minister Piyush Goyal to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, lauding the state’s commitment to transparency, efficiency, and inclusivity.

In his letter, Goyal highlighted that Uttar Pradesh’s contribution to GeM’s rapid growth has been “extremely significant,” positioning the state at the forefront of procurement reforms.

He noted that in the financial year 2024–25 alone, GeM processed over ₹5.43 lakh crore worth of more than 72 lakh procurement orders. Since its inception, more than ₹14 lakh crore worth of purchases have been made through over 2.9 crore procurement orders on the platform.

The Union Minister underscored that GeM now serves as a robust procurement portal, offering more than 11,000 product categories and over 330 service categories.

“The data for total purchases made by buyers from the Government of Uttar Pradesh over the last five financial years clearly demonstrates the state’s trust in GeM,” Goyal noted.

He particularly praised the UP government’s decision to issue a comprehensive government order on November 26, 2024, aligning the state’s procurement rules with the General Financial Rules (GFR) 2017 and GeM’s General Terms and Conditions (GTC). “This order consolidates various procurement-related guidelines into a unified framework, simplifying the process and enabling 100% adoption of GeM,” he stated.

Calling this alignment a major administrative milestone, Goyal said, “This government order has promoted transparency, efficiency, inclusivity, and ease of procurement through GeM. This is in line with the vision of the Hon’ble Prime Minister, under which GeM was envisioned as a one-stop platform to meet all procurement needs of government buyers.”

The letter also emphasized that UP’s proactive and tech-driven approach reflects the transformative outcomes possible through the Digital India initiative. “The commitment shown by Uttar Pradesh towards adopting GeM stands as a model, demonstrating how combining technological innovation with execution and inclusivity can yield transformative outcomes,” Goyal wrote.

He concluded by expressing confidence that the state’s continued leadership would further accelerate public procurement reforms across the country.