Government eMarketplace [GeM], CSC e-Governance Services India Ltd. [CSC-SPV], and Department of Posts, inked a Memorandum of Understanding [MoU] for the advocacy, outreach, mobilization and capacity-building of last-mile Govt buyers, sellers and service providers in public procurement. The MoU was signed by Shri PK Singh, CEO, GeM, Shri Sanjay Kumar Rakesh, CEO, CSC-SPV and Shri Ajay Kumar Roy, Chief General Manager, Parcel Directorate, Department of Posts in New Delhi today.
The MoU was conceived after the successful integration of GeM and India Post on 05th May 2022. With this integration, it is now possible for all last-mile Govt buyers, sellers and service-providers to avail the logistics services and facilities over GeM through the India Post facilities located in the remotest parts of India.
Nearly 4.5 lakh+ Common Service Centers [CSC] and approx. 1.5 lakh+ India Post offices across India will be trained to assist last-mile Govt buyers, sellers and service providers with buyer/ seller registration, product catalogue upload and management, order acceptance, fulfilment and invoice generation functionality on GeM portal. Value-added services such as photography of product images, packaging, logistics and shipment of packages through Speed Post and Business Parcel, through India Post website, online, print and office communication channels will also be delivered at charges defined by CSC and Department of Posts. GeM Services offered through CSCs and India Post Offices will be made available to all Govt buyers, sellers and service providers at no charge.
Vernacular language-based training curriculum in print and digital media for CSCs and India Post staff based on the requirement of the participants is being developed by GeM in consultation with CSC-SPV and Dept of Posts. Training sessions will be conducted through in-person and virtual training modes at 6,000+ CSCs nominated by CSC-SPV and co-located at district and block-level, who in turn will train panchayat level Village-Level Entrepreneurs [VLE] to familiarize them on various buyer and seller functionalities on the GeM portal.
Rates for packaging materials and shipment of packages through Speed Post and Business Parcel through India Post website, online, print and office communication channels will be shared with CSCs. Dept of Posts will conduct “Train-the-Trainer” training programs related to various postal products and services such as Speed Post and Business Parcel, namely, packaging of consignments using packaging material defined as per the Shipment Packaging Policy of Dept of Posts through the 6,000+ CSCs nominated by CSC-SPV in a phased manner. Dept of Posts will ensure the availability of India Post packaging material including boxes, BOPP tapes, bubble-wrap, flyers and air sacks in-store at nearest post offices for CSCs, facilitate the pick-up, transmission and delivery of Speed Post and Business Parcel as per standards defined by Dept of Posts, and ensure priority processing of all GeM labelled packages.
GeM will institute a rewards and incentives program for top-performing CSCs and Post Offices. CSCs and Post Offices achieving the highest number of i) successful buyer and seller registrations, and ii) product and service catalogue uploads at block, district, state and national level, will be felicitated through awards at the Annual GeM-CII National Public Procurement Conclave [NPPC] held each year on 8-9th August in New Delhi. GeM will work with CSC-SPV and India Post to train top performing CSCs and staff at Post Offices as “GeM Master Trainers” during “GeM Boot Camps”, create and share their success stories in print and digital media, and groom them as GeM Ambassadors, in their respective communities.
Last-mile stakeholders such as Local Bodies, Panchayati Raj institutions, among others and under-served seller groups in rural areas; namely women, khadi and tribal entrepreneurs, micro, small enterprises [MSE], self-help groups [SHGs], farmer producer organizations [FPO], Startups, artisans and weavers, divyangjan and Hunar-Haat craftsmen, bamboo producers, and stakeholders’ such as Corporates, Private Companies Colleges, Scientific and Technical Research Institutions, and Universities, among others in public procurement will benefit from this MoU.
Speaking at the ceremony, Shri PK Singh, CEO, GeM mentioned that “inclusion is a core value at GeM, and this partnership will leverage and utilize the online and physical infrastructure of CSCs and India Post Offices to ensure the inclusion and participation of last-mile stakeholders on GeM”.
CEO, CSC-SPV Shri Sanjay Rakesh complimented GeM and India Post for rolling out the delivery of e-comm, packaging and logistics services through the self-sustaining pan-India network of approx. 4.5 lakh+ CSCs. The MoU will expand the outreach and delivery of GeM services up to the last-mile Govt buyers, under-served sellers and service-providers through a national technology platform, thereby making e-comm services available to all citizens of India.
Alok Sharma, Director General, Postal Services said that “the new partnership with GeM and CSC-SPV will propel India Post as the preferred logistics service provider for sellers on GeM portal” thereby ensuring a high-quality of service and faster delivery of e-commerce benefits through last-mile physical connectivity, across 1.5 lakh+ India Post Offices.
The MoU will address the twin challenges of “access to markets” and “access to finance” faced by under-served seller groups and align the untapped entrepreneurial energy of last-mile producers and service-providers in rural India with local Govt buyers. This will spur hyper-local procurement thereby integrating local value-chains through “Vocal for Local” and “Make in India” initiatives of the Government, thereby furthering the aim of ensuring a self-reliant “Atmanirbhar Bharat”. (Source: PIB)
