About SWAYATT Initiative:
- It was launched in 2019.
- It was conceptualised with a clear objective of invigorating participation of women-led enterprises and youth in public procurement.
- Objective: It democratizes government procurement by enabling startups, women entrepreneurs, youth, Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs), Self Help Groups (SHGs) and last-mile sellers to directly participate in the public procurement ecosystem through Government e-Marketplace.
- It is rooted in GeM’s foundational pillar of social inclusion.
- SWAYATT focuses on addressing three critical challenges often faced by emerging enterprises—access to markets, access to finance and access to value addition.
Key Facts about Government e Marketplace
- It is an Online Market platform that was set up in 2016.
- It facilitates the procurement of goods and services by government ministries, departments, public sector undertakings (PSU) etc.
- It has been envisaged as the National Procurement Portal of India.
- It was developed by the Directorate General of Supplies and Disposals (Ministry of Commerce and Industry) with technical support from the National e-governance Division (Ministry of Electronic and Information Technology).
- GeM is a completely paperless, cashless and system-driven e-marketplace that enables procurement of common-use goods and services with minimal human interface.
