Uber integration with Government E-Marketplace complete 

The GeM portal was launched on August 9, 2016, for online purchases of goods and services by all the central government ministries and departments.

Uber integration with Government's E-Marketplace (GeM) has been completed and is already running in the pilot phase, commerce ministry officials said on June 15.

“Uber integration with GeM portal for spot hiring of cabs has been completed and is in the pilot phase. Once the pilot is completed, GeM will be able to offer services to various buyer organisations,” GeM CEO PK Singh said during the release of trade data on June 15.

While the ministry did not give an exact timeline, officials said that ‘very soon’, personnel from the government ministries, departments, agencies and public sector units (PSUs) will be able to book taxis for official purposes.

Here, Uber would provide the service at a fixed price with zero cancellation charges and no surge pricing, as per officials.

As per Singh, GeM has also signed an MoU with NASSCOM to enhance opportunities for businesses that provide software products and technology-related services.

“The signing of MoU is a significant step towards augmenting domestic market access for tech SMEs,” Singh said.

The marketplace has also been integrated successfully with Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) where real-time online validation of BIS licence with the BIS database would be there.

“In the product category page, the buyer will be able to see the details of BIS licence for a particular product wherein grade, designation, verity, type etcetera will be visible,” Singh added.

The Government e-Market (GeM) portal was launched on August 9, 2016, for online purchases of goods and services by all the central government ministries and departments.

GeM has over 63,000 government buyer organisations and over 62 lakh sellers and service providers offering a wide range of products and services.

Currently, government departments, ministries, public sector units, state governments, and central armed police forces are allowed to carry out transactions through this portal.

The portal provides a wide range of products from office stationery to vehicles.

Automobiles, computers and office furniture are some of the major product categories.

Services, including transportation, logistics, waste management, webcasting and analytical are listed on the portal.