Raipur, August 11, 2026: Chhattisgarh has been honoured with the ‘GeM Sustainable Procurement Award’ at the 10th-anniversary celebration of the Government e-Marketplace (GeM).
The award was presented at a ceremony held in New Delhi in the presence of Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal. The theme of the event, marking a decade of GeM, was ‘GeM 10: A Decade of Exponential Possibilities’.
Chhattisgarh received this award under the ‘Premier Awards – State Government Felicitation’ category for its effective use of GeM and the significant increase in both the value and volume of government procurement facilitated through the platform.
The state government reported savings of Rs 130 crore in the 2025-26 financial year, attributed to the transparent and competitive tendering process on the GeM platform. These savings resulted from the difference between the estimated procurement costs projected by departments and the actual market prices realised through open competitive bidding.
GeM’s open bidding process, standardised specifications, and the maintenance of digital, auditable records for every transaction ensure transparency and competition in government procurement. Over the past three financial years, the state government has achieved total savings of Rs 235 crore through competitive procurement.
Established checks and monitoring mechanisms are in place at every stage of the procurement process. Additionally, tender conditions and technical specifications undergo regular review to ensure procurement quality and the availability of goods and services aligned with evolving requirements.
Government procurement in Chhattisgarh via GeM rose to Rs 3,935 crore in the 2025-26 financial year, marking a 113 per cent increase compared to the previous financial year.
This growth was made possible by the state government’s well-planned efforts to consolidate procurement activities across departments, corporations, and local bodies onto a unified, transparent digital platform. This has brought a greater volume of government procurement under the ambit of open competition, ensuring competitive pricing and transparency in every transaction.
The extensive use of GeM has also led to a rapid increase in the participation of small entrepreneurs in government procurement. In the financial year 2025-26, procurement from Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs) rose by 61 per cent to reach Rs 1,800 crore. This figure significantly exceeds the mandated 25 per cent procurement target for MSEs.
Significant growth has also been recorded in the participation of priority entrepreneurial groups within the state. Procurement from women entrepreneurs increased by 97 per cent, while procurement from entrepreneurs belonging to Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST) grew by 108 per cent. Notably, the highest growth, 178 per cent, was recorded in procurement from startups.
Expressing satisfaction over this achievement, Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai stated that GeM has provided a powerful platform for Chhattisgarh’s entrepreneurs to connect directly with government demand and the market, eliminating the need for intermediaries. The substantial rise in participation by women entrepreneurs, SC/ST entrepreneurs, and startups underscores the success of this transparent system.
Sai remarked that the open and transparent digital marketplace offers equal opportunities to every entrepreneur. Our government is striving to ensure that the benefits of this system reach the maximum number of micro and small enterprises, women entrepreneurs, SC/ST entrepreneurs, and startups across the state. We are steadily advancing towards building a developed Chhattisgarh by empowering local entrepreneurship alongside transparent government procurement.
