GeM is scaling seller enablement
GeM has pushed free, multilingual e‑learning and step‑by‑step onboarding for small vendors under initiatives like ODOP Bazaar to help MSMEs access government buying. The platform reports large scale — including stories of artisans like MSE Arvind Gram Udyog and a reported ₹5 lakh crore business figure — suggesting government channels are a viable route for national scaling. (x.com) (x.com)
A small workshop making district-famous goods used to need a distributor, a trade fair, or a lucky retail tie-up to sell nationwide. Government e Marketplace is trying to replace that with a login, a product listing, and a procurement order from one of more than 1.6 lakh government buyers. (pib.gov.in) That buyer network is not small. The Government e Marketplace crossed ₹5 lakh crore in gross merchandise value on March 17, 2025, and the full financial year 2024–25 later closed at ₹5.4 lakh crore on the platform. (pib.gov.in 1) (pib.gov.in 2) The new push is less about adding another slogan and more about teaching first-time sellers how to use the system. Government e Marketplace launched an interactive Learning Management System in 2024, and the training is available in 12 official languages instead of only English or Hindi. (pib.gov.in) The course library is built like a step-by-step manual rather than a policy document. The live Learning Management System shows six “Seller Journey” courses covering registration, catalogue management, bid and reverse auction participation, order fulfillment, forward auction, and dispute resolution under Vivad Se Vishwas. (elearning.gem.gov.in) That matters because public procurement has its own grammar. A handicraft seller who knows how to pack, price, and ship to retail buyers still has to learn digital catalogues, bids, compliance fields, and payment workflows before a government department can buy anything. (elearning.gem.gov.in 1) (elearning.gem.gov.in 2) Government e Marketplace has also been lowering some of the toll gates to get in. The platform said it reduced transaction charges, vendor assessment fees, and caution money requirements as part of recent policy reforms aimed at micro and small enterprises, startups, and women-led businesses. (pib.gov.in) The district-products piece sits inside One District One Product, a government program that picks a signature product for each district and tries to build markets around it. The One District One Product bazaar on Government e Marketplace was launched on August 29, 2022, with more than 200 product categories created specifically for those goods. (pib.gov.in) That bazaar is now part of a wider distribution machine. A February 2026 government note said more than 1,200 One District One Product items were listed on the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade digital portal, while Government e Marketplace–One District One Product onboarding was being used to push those products into wider markets. (pib.gov.in) Scale is the other half of the story. As of February 13, 2025, Government e Marketplace said it had more than 22 lakh sellers and service providers, including over 29,000 startups and 1.8 lakh Udyam-verified women-led businesses. (pib.gov.in) The platform has also been widening what can actually be sold there. By January 2025, services made up 62% of annual gross merchandise value, and 19 new service categories had been added that year, which means Government e Marketplace is no longer just a place to sell office chairs, paper, or hand tools. (pib.gov.in) So the bet here is straightforward. If a small manufacturer or artisan can be taught the rules in their own language, onboarded with fewer fees, and placed in a marketplace where ministries, public sector firms, panchayats, and cooperatives already buy at scale, government demand starts to look less like paperwork and more like a national sales channel. (pib.gov.in 1) (pib.gov.in 2)
