Empirical Study on the Efficacy and Impact of the Gem Portal

Abstract

The Government e-Marketplace (GeM) portal has revolutionized the public procurement landscape in India, enhancing transparency, efficiency, digital governance, and participation in public procurement. The purpose of this study was to assess the efficacy and impact of the GeM portal on procurement efficiency, transparency, vendor engagement, procurement quality, and user acceptance. A quantitative, descriptive, and analytical research design was employed. A structured questionnaire was given to 254 valid respondents in order to collect primary data, and official GeM reports and government publications were used to collect secondary data. To investigate correlation between the various variables of the present study Spearman's Rank Correlation was used. The results showed a strong positive correlation between system usability and GeM adoption (ρ = 0.681 at p = 0.000) and a significant positive correlation between transparency and governance mechanisms and procurement efficiency (ρ = 0.662 at p = 0.000). There was, however, a weak, and statistically non-significant, association between vendor participation and procurement outcomes (ρ=0.097, p= 0.123). By contrast, L1 pricing had a significant negative correlation with procurement quality (ρ = –0.217, p = 0.000) suggesting that the “lowest price” incentive to procure could be negatively associated with quality. There was also significant improvement in the number of seller registrations, the number of service types recorded, and the number of MSMEs, startups, women entrepreneurs, and other priority groups engaged with the platform, underscoring the platform's increased inclusiveness and popularity. The study results conclude that online public procurement through GeM has brought a lot of strength to digital public procurement through transparency, governance and better operational efficiency. However, ongoing enhancements in the evaluation, monitoring and quality-driven purchasing processes are necessary to fully realize the benefits of procurement and to continue to create value for the public.