New Delhi, Apr 25 (KNN) Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman reiterated Government’s E Market portal (GeM) as the most transparent and efficient public procurement portal. According to the Minister, the E-portal that helps the Government procure products through vendors online has already resulted in savings of crores of rupees to the government.

Supporting her statement with an instance she spoke of the recent procurement of smart phones by the Ministry of Women and Child Welfare.

“Recently the Women and Child welfare ministry wanted to supply 54,000 smartphones to the Angandwadi workers in 5 states. I am happy that by using the GeM,  not only did the government avail the phones at the cheapest price in the market, the Government was also able to save Rs 7 crores on the purchase of the phones” said the Minister.

Highlighting the plus points of the portal, Sitharaman said that the best thing about the online portal is that the prices are reflected in real time, allowing the Government to take advantage of the market competition.

She further said that the government intends to sign MoUs with state governments to extend the GeM service towards procurement at the state level as well.

Defending the portal as full proof mechanism against corruption, the Minister further added that in case it is felt that the prices offered on the portal is more than the price offline, there is always a provision for the government to entertain tenders in such cases.

The Minister said this during a press conference clarifying the charges made by Congress leader alleging corruption in GeM Mechanism. (KNN/ DA)