CONTENTS
- Government e-Marketplace
- BRICS
Government e-Marketplace
Context:
Government e-Marketplace surpasses INR 1 lakh crore Gross Merchandise Value milestone in record time
Relevance:
GS II- Government policies and Intervention
About Government e-Marketplace (GeM)
Nodal: Ministry of Commerce and Industry
- The Government e Marketplace (GeM) was launched on August 9, 2016.
- To create an open and transparent procurement platform for Government buyers.
- A Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) by the name of Government e- Marketplace (GeM SPV) was set up as the National Public Procurement Portal
- It has been developed by Directorate General of Supplies and Disposals (Ministry of Commerce and Industry) with technical support of National e-governance Division (Ministry of Electronic and Information Technology).
- It is a completely paperless, cashless and system driven e-market place that enables procurement of common use goods and services with minimal human interface.
- At present, the platform is open for procurement by all government buyers: central and state ministries, departments, public sector enterprises, autonomous institutions, local bodies, etc.
- As per existing mandate, GeM is not available for use by private sector buyers.
- Suppliers (sellers) can be from across all segments: government or private.
The following are the objectives of the online platform:
- Easier availability of various goods and services for the government buyers.
- Create transparency in public procurement.
- Cost saving on government expenditure.
- Achieve and promote cashless transactions.
BRICS
Context:
Prime Minister landed in South Africa to take part in the three-day BRICS summit. The 15th BRICS Summit is being hosted by South Africa. This will be the first in-person BRICS summit since 2019; the last three were held online because of the COVID pandemic.
Relevance:
GS II- International Relations
Dimensions of the Article:
- What is BRICS?
What is BRICS?
- BRICS is the international grouping of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
- This was set up as a move towards greater multipolarity; hence the spread across three continents and both hemispheres.
- In terms of GDP, China occupies the second position; India the fifth; Brazil the ninth; Russia the 11th; and South Africa the 35th.
- In terms of growth rates, China grew at 6%; India at 4.5%, Russia 1.7%, Brazil 1.2% and South Africa 0.1%.
- BRICS does not exist in form of organization, but it is an annual summit between the supreme leaders of five nations.
- The Chairmanship of the forum is rotated annually among the members, in accordance with the acronym B-R-I-C-S.
- The BRICS seeks to deepen, broaden and intensify cooperation within the grouping and among the individual countries for more sustainable, equitable and mutually beneficial development.
- BRICS takes into consideration each member’s growth, development and poverty objectives to ensure relations are built on the respective country’s economic strengths and to avoid competition where possible.
- BRICS is emerging as a new and promising political-diplomatic entity with diverse objectives, far beyond the original objective of reforming global financial institutions.
