On Recent Advances in Public Procurement: An Exploration of the Government e‐Marketplace in India

This paper investigates the issue of recent technology‐enabled transformation in public procurement, for India in particular. A combination of techniques, such as the analysis of social media posts about the new electronic public procurement platform (Government e‐Marketplace, GeM) as well as auction details on GeM itself, are employed in this paper to conduct a detailed exploration of the nature of this transition. In doing so, this paper contributes not only to the nascent literature on electronic public procurement, but also to that of technology‐driven inclusive development, whereby small and marginalized sellers are encouraged to participate in public procurement. We find that the process of change is iterative and non‐linear: few government buyers have become dominant entities on the platform, while many other stakeholders are still in the process of transition. This is reflected in the divergence in the perspectives of different stakeholders regarding the platform. The immediate policy recommendation is a proposal to diversify the support system of the electronic platform, so that different queries and complaints can be adequately addressed. Additionally, collective representation of small and marginal sellers to the government would help the latter understand how to increase its outreach to similar entities, enabling better outcomes for inclusive development.