CURRENT AFFAIRS

Detailed explanation-1: -New Delhi, 27th October, 2022: Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL ) becomes the first Central Public Sector Enterprise (CPSE) to achieve the major milestone of procurement value of Rs 10,000 (Ten Thousand) Crore through the Government-e-Marketplace (GeM) since inception.

Detailed explanation-2: -Incidentally, SAIL was the largest CPSE procurer on GeM in the previous Financial Year with a value of Rs. 4,614 Crore. In the current fiscal, SAIL has already surpassed the achievement of previous year with procurement of over Rs. 5,250 Crore till date and is committed to substantially increase the volumes on GeM.

Detailed explanation-3: -Prashant Kumar Singh is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Government e Marketplace (GeM), Government of India. He is a bureaucrat of the Indian Administrative Service of 1993 batch.

Detailed explanation-4: -The Government e Marketplace (or e-Marketplace) (GeM) is an online platform for public procurement in India. The initiative was launched on August 9, 2016 by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India with the objective to create an open and transparent procurement platform for government buyers.

Detailed explanation-5: -Who can buy/purchase through GeM? All Central government and State Government Ministries/Departments including its attached/subordinate offices, Central and State autonomous bodies, Central and State Public Sector Units and local bodies etc. are authorized to make procurement through GeM portal.