18 June 2026·PIB

GeM Partners with Common Service Centre to Expand Access to Government Procurement Opportunities Across India

In this note

1. At a Glance

Government e-Marketplace (GeM) signed an MoU with CSC-SPV on 18 June 2026 to widen rural seller onboarding on India's national public procurement portal [1][2].
Operationally significant for GS-II (Governance) & GS-III (Economy) — links Digital India infrastructure with public procurement reform and MSME/rural inclusion [1][2].
Plan includes launching 50 GeM Suvidha Kendras for last-mile seller facilitation — registration to catalogue listing [1].

18 June 2026: GeM and Common Service Centre e-Governance Services India Ltd. (CSC-SPV) signed an MoU at the GeM Office, New Delhi, under the Ministry of Commerce & Industry [1].
Scope: end-to-end seller support (registration, catalogue listing, order fulfilment) and rollout of 50 GeM Suvidha Kendras in rural / underserved regions [1].

GeM launched 9 August 2016 as India's National Public Procurement Portal for goods/services to central & state government buyers [4].
CSCs are Access Points under the Digital India programme, operated through CSC-SPV (a Special Purpose Vehicle under MeitY) [2].
May 2022: GeM signed a tripartite MoU with CSC-SPV and Department of Posts for last-mile outreach; >5.2 lakh CSCs and ~1.5 lakh India Post offices were to be trained as facilitation points [2].
2026 MoU deepens that 2022 collaboration, adding a dedicated GeM Suvidha Kendra network [1].

Parent Ministry (GeM): Ministry of Commerce & Industry — Department of Commerce [1].
Parent Ministry (CSC-SPV): Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) [2].
Legal vehicle of GeM: A Section 8 company (not-for-profit) incorporated 2017; CSC-SPV is also a Section 8 company under the Companies Act, 2013 [2].
Cumulative GMV of GeM: ₹18.4 lakh crore (cumulative); >₹5 lakh crore GMV in FY 2025-26 [3].
Registered sellers/service providers: >22 lakh (as of 13 Feb 2025) [3].
Inclusion metrics: ~29,000 startups onboarded; ~1.8 lakh Udyam-verified women-led businesses [3].
State procurement growth: +38.3% in FY 2025-26 [3].
Kendras to be launched under 2026 MoU: 50 GeM Suvidha Kendras [1].

Economic

Expands the buyer base beyond Central PSUs to rural MSEs — tackles "access to markets" and "access to finance" gaps for under-served sellers [2].
Reinforces public procurement as demand-side support for MSMEs (procurement worth lakhs of crores routed transparently) [3].

Social / Inclusion

Targets rural, women-led, and small sellers — aligns with Udyam registration ecosystem [3].
CSC network (>5.2 lakh) gives last-mile digital handholding for sellers lacking IT literacy [2].

Administrative / Governance

Reduces transaction costs and information asymmetry; enforces e-bidding/reverse auction transparency under GFR 2017 Rule 149 (default route for GeM procurement) [1].
Federal angle: state procurement now contributes substantively — 38.3% YoY growth in FY 2025-26 [3].

Technological

Builds on Digital India stack — CSC network, Aadhaar e-KYC, UPI, Udyam — consistent with JAM trinity logic [2].
Complements June 2026 GeM–Bhashini MoU for multilingual procurement access [5].

Feb 2025: GeM crossed ₹5 lakh crore GMV before FY 2024-25 year-end [6].
FY 2024-25: GeM recorded ₹5.4 lakh crore GMV on its 9th Foundation Day [7].
2025-26: Cumulative ₹18.4 lakh crore GMV milestone reported [3].
June 2026: GeM signed MoU with Digital India Bhashini Division (DIBD) for multilingual access [5].
18 June 2026: GeM-CSC MoU signed; 50 GeM Suvidha Kendras announced [1].

GeM is administered by the Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce & Industry — not MeitY [1].
GeM was launched on 9 August 2016 [4].
GeM is incorporated as a Section 8 company under the Companies Act, 2013 [2].
CSC-SPV functions under MeitY, not Commerce [2].
GeM procurement is the default route under Rule 149, GFR 2017 for central government buyers [1].
Cumulative GeM GMV crossed ₹18.4 lakh crore [3].
>22 lakh sellers/service providers registered on GeM (as of Feb 2025) [3].
~1.8 lakh women-led Udyam-verified businesses are on GeM [3].
2022 MoU trained >5.2 lakh CSCs and ~1.5 lakh India Post offices for GeM facilitation [2].
2026 MoU will launch 50 GeM Suvidha Kendras for last-mile seller support [1].
State procurement on GeM grew 38.3% in FY 2025-26 [3].
GeM also signed an MoU with Digital India Bhashini (DIBD) for multilingual procurement [5].

Digital India Programme — parent umbrella for CSCs [2].
General Financial Rules (GFR) 2017, Rule 149 — statutory basis for GeM procurement.
Udyam Registration & MSME Development Act, 2006 — seller base for GeM.
Public Procurement (Preference to Make in India) Order, 2017 — interacts with GeM listings.
Bhashini (NLTM) — multilingual layer for GeM [5].
India Post Payments Bank & DoP outreach — parallel last-mile arm [2].
JAM Trinity & DBT architecture — DPI peer of GeM.
Startup India / Stand-Up India — startups already onboarded via GeM [3].

Wrong ministry: GeM is under Commerce & Industry, not MeitY; CSC-SPV is under MeitY [1][2].
Confusing entity type: GeM is a Section 8 company, not a statutory body or PSU [2].
MoU year: The CSC-GeM partnership originated in 2022; the 2026 MoU is an expansion, not the first [1][2].
GMV confusion: Distinguish cumulative GMV (~₹18.4 lakh crore) from annual GMV (₹5.4 lakh crore in FY 2024-25) [3][7].
GFR Rule: It's Rule 149 of GFR 2017 (not Rule 144 or 161) that mandates GeM as default procurement route.