The Indian government's Ministry of Finance has approved the proposed creation of a ‘Government e-Marketplace’ (GeM) by the Directorate General Supply and Disposal (DGS&D), which will be used by the government to purchase goods for its use. The notice from the government mentions that it will host common use goods and services, but doesn't give details of which goods and services these are. The marketplace can be used by government buyers for direct online purchases upto Rs 50,000, while purchases above Rs 50,000 will be required to be made through the supplier having the lowest price, meeting the quality, specification and delivery period requirements. We'll update once there is more information on this marketplace. Other initiatives Agricultural trading facility: Last month, the Government launched an online trading platform for farmers, connecting them to a network of wholesale agricultural markets. To begin with, only 12 different farm commodities would be traded on the online platform, and only 21 regulated wholesale markets (mandis) from eight different states were considered. For context, there are 7,000 mandis in the country. Marketing site for women entrepreneurs: In March, the Ministry of Women and Child development launched an online marketing portal for women entrepreneurs called Mahila e-haat. The website allows women to list and showcase their products online without any extra costs. It also plans to integrate other ecommerce portals to provide a larger platform for selling and buying. Other e-governance initiatives: - Last month, the Income Tax department launched an ‘E-filing’ facility for select category…
