ITANAGAR, May 2: Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Secretary Rinchin Tashi said the state government has made it mandatory for all government departments and agencies to adopt the Government e-Marketplace (GeM) for procuring goods and services.
Addressing the inaugural session of a two-day state level orientation programme on GeM here on Thursday, Tashi stressed on orienting and sensitizing all the departments on the need to ensure proper implementation of the GeM.
He said procuring goods and services through the GeM would help in easing the pressure on government officials.
Tashi also stressed the need for offsetting the negative mindset associated with online procurement by government departments.
“Procurement through the GeM has demonstrated accrual of saving of government grants of up to 26 percent, which is a substantial saving of public funds,” he said, and advocated adopting the medium to procure goods and services “after proper planning.”
Earlier, State Institute of Rural Development & Panchayati Raj (SIRD & PR) Director Vijay Kumar Sharma said the central and state grants mandate compliance with the General Financial Rules, 2017, “which in turn requires compliance with procurement through the GeM under Rule 149.”
Sharma stressed on the need for “proper and timely assessment of requirements for enabling all concerned departments and agencies for leveraging the GeM for procurement of goods and services.”
The programme was organized by the SIRD & PR, with technical support from the National Institute of Rural Development & Panchayati Raj, North Eastern Regional Centre (NIRD & PR, NERC). Senior officers of the rural development and panchayati raj departments, the Arunachal State Rural Livelihoods Mission, and the SIRD & PR are attending it.
