21 Aug 19: The portal was launched in August 2016 for online purchases of goods and services by all the central government ministries and departments as well as states. The government is considering to widen the ambit of its procurement portal GeM by permitting government contractors and private bulk buyers to use the platform for buying goods and services, an official said. Currently, they are not allowed to procure goods and services from the Government e-marketplace (GeM) platform managed by the Commerce and Industry Ministry.