As protests to boycott Chinese products in India grow louder with every passing day, a piece of news has gained momentum on social media which says that ‘Information about ‘Country of Origin’ by the sellers on products made mandatory on Government e-Marketplace (GeM)’. GeM is an online, end-to-end marketplace where common user goods and services can be procured by the government officials. The platform was launched on 9th August, 2016 and is managed by GeM Special Purpose Vehicle, a 100% Government Owned, Section 8 Company under the Department of Commerce.
The Logical Indian received requests on the Fact Check number to verify the news.
The same information was circulated on social media too.
Big news!Modi Govt makes it mandatory for Online Retailers to mention ‘Country of Origin’ on products. A brilliant move that will enable a complete boycott of Chinese Goods and help India becomes #AatmanirbharBharat#BoycottChineseProducts pic.twitter.com/8hal4SuVcR
— सुमित खत्री (@essveesumit) June 23, 2020
Another big step towards #AatmanirbharBharat @narendramodi government takes decision to provide information about country of origin by the sellers on GeM, announced by FM @nsitharaman pic.twitter.com/7v0Lf7nRcj
— Manoj Goenka (@iam_manojgoenka) June 23, 2020
Traders are doing their bit. Let’s all also pledge to check the COUNTRY of ORIGIn of a BRAND before buying. Mkmm#Pick_local_kick_chinese pic.twitter.com/iwQ1RaJqRS
— मुन्ना कुमार मिश्रा #प्रशासक_समिति (@Munnamishra8) June 17, 2020
Claim:
Information about ‘Country of Origin’ by the sellers on products is now mandatory on Government e-Marketplace (GeM).
Fact Check:
The claim is true.
The Government e-Marketplace (GeM) has made it mandatory for sellers to spell out the ‘Country of Origin’ of products they want to sell on the platform. The move comes in a bid to promote Make in India and Aatma Nirbhar Bharat (Self-reliant India).
‘Country of Origin’ by sellers made mandatory on @GeM_India to promote #MakeInIndia Steps towards #AatmanirbharBharat! #VocalForLocal #GrowInIndia pic.twitter.com/mzxuun6mU9
— Dept of Commerce, GoI (@DoC_GoI) June 24, 2020
Information about Country of Origin by the sellers made mandatory on GeM. #MakeInIndia #AtmaNirbharBharat. https://t.co/pCNnRcnvQD
— Nirmala Sitharaman (@nsitharaman) June 23, 2020
Govt. under PM @NarendraModi ji takes a significant step to promote Make in India & Aatmanirbhar Bharat.Now, information about Country of Origin by sellers is made mandatory on @GeM_India Visit: https://t.co/VcrxVVYiVg https://t.co/jqLT4RU5HN pic.twitter.com/uoVEdvocZv
— Piyush Goyal (@PiyushGoyal) June 23, 2020
The Ministry of Commerce and Industry said in a statement on June 23 that the government procurement portal has made it mandatory for sellers to enter the country of origin while registering all new products on GeM. Sellers, who had already uploaded their products before the introduction of this new feature on GeM, are being reminded regularly to update the Country of Origin, with a warning that their products shall be removed from GeM if they fail to update the same.
‘In case of Bids, buyers can now reserve any bid for Class I Local suppliers (local content more than 50 percent). For those Bids below INR 200 crore, only Class I and Class II Local Suppliers (local content more than 50 percent and more than 20 percent respectively) are eligible to bid, with Class I supplier getting purchase preference,’ the statement added.
‘Since its inception, GeM is continuously working towards promotion of ”Make in India” initiative. The marketplace has facilitated the entry of small local sellers in public procurement while implementing Make in India and MSE Purchase Preference Policies of the government in the true sense,’ it further said.
Below is the statement from the government:
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