SWAYATT Initiative: Success & Challenges: UPSC Current Affairs

Description

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Picture Courtesy: newsarenaindia

Context

The Government e-Marketplace (GeM) commemorated the six-year anniversary of the SWAYATT initiative.

What is Government e-Marketplace (GeM)?

It is a dedicated national online portal for the procurement of common-use goods and services by various government departments, organizations, and Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs).

Launched in August 2016, it replaced the Directorate General of Supplies and Disposals (DGS&D) to modernize and digitize public procurement.

Key Features and Pillars

The platform is built on three core pillars:

Transparency: Reduces human intervention in registration, order placement, and payments to eliminate corruption.
Efficiency: Enables faster procurement through automated workflows, online price comparisons, and tools like e-bidding and reverse auctions.
Inclusivity: Empowers marginalized sellers, including MSMEs, Startups, Women entrepreneurs, and Self-Help Groups (SHGs), by providing direct access to government markets.

Who Can Use GeM?

Buyers: Central and State Government Ministries, Departments, PSUs, autonomous bodies, local bodies (like Panchayats), and cooperative societies.

Sellers: Indian manufacturers, service providers, and resellers. Registration is free, and the platform provides a level playing field for small businesses to compete for large contracts.

Major Benefits

Cost Savings

An independent assessment by the World Bank found average savings of approximately 9.75% for buyers compared to traditional procurement.

Paperless & Cashless

Transactions are entirely digital, with payments integrated through systems like the Public Financial Management System (PFMS) to ensure timely settlements.

Dynamic Pricing

Sellers can adjust prices based on market conditions, ensuring competitive rates for the government.

Financial Support

Initiatives like GeM Sahay offer collateral-free, instant loans to MSE sole proprietors against their active purchase orders.

Special Initiatives

GeM has launched targeted programs:

SWAYATT: Promotes "Startups, Women and Youth Advantage Through e-Transactions".
Womaniya: A dedicated initiative to showcase products from women-led enterprises.
The Saras Collection: Showcases handcrafted products from Self-Help Groups.

What is the SWAYATT Initiative?

The SWAYATT initiative (Startups, Women and Youth Advantage Through e-Transactions) was launched in February 2019, to promote social and financial inclusion on the Government e-Marketplace (GeM).

Core Objectives

The initiative aims to "democratise" government procurement by removing entry barriers for small or underrepresented sellers. It focuses on three critical areas:

Access to Markets: Providing direct linkages between small sellers and government buyers.
Access to Finance: Assisting emerging enterprises in overcoming financial hurdles.
Access to Value-Addition: Enhancing the quality and competitiveness of products through capacity building.

Target Beneficiaries

Startups: Enabling them to showcase innovative products directly to the government.
Women Entrepreneurs: Boosting women-led Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs).
Youth & Marginalized Groups: Including SC/ST entrepreneurs, Self-Help Groups (SHGs), and Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs).

Conclusion

The GeM platform, through initiatives like SWAYATT, is a powerful instrument for modernizing public procurement and driving inclusive economic growth, playing a crucial role in empowering small businesses and contributing to the vision of a 'Viksit Bharat 2047'.

Source: PIB

Attempt Daily Quiz

PRACTICE QUESTION

Q. The "SWAYATT" initiative, often seen in the news, primarily aims to:

A) Provide digital literacy to rural youth in aspirational districts.

B) Promote startups, women, and youth advantage through e-transactions on GeM.

C) Offer collateral-free loans to street vendors through mobile applications.

D) Incentivize the export of handloom products through the "One District One Product" scheme.

Answer: B

Explanation:

The "SWAYATT" initiative, which stands for Startups, Women and Youth Advantage Through e-Transactions on the Government e-Marketplace (GeM), primarily aims to promote the participation of startups, women entrepreneurs, and youth in public procurement.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

SWAYATT (Startups, Women and Youth Advantage through e-Transactions) is a flagship initiative of the Government e-Marketplace (GeM) launched in 2019. Its primary goal is to democratize public procurement by enabling startups, women entrepreneurs, youth, and other marginalized sellers to participate directly in the government's procurement process through the GeM portal.

SWAYATT, through GeM, has provided women entrepreneurs direct access to a vast government market. Dedicated storefronts like 'Womaniya' enhance their visibility. This has led to a massive increase in both the number and value of orders secured by women-led enterprises, with the cumulative order value surging from ₹1,265.62 crore in FY 2018-19 to ₹83,323 crore by FY 2025-26.

Key challenges include the digital literacy gap among small vendors, technical glitches with the platform's interface, a cumbersome registration process for MSEs, and marketplace issues like non-participation in bidding and a perceived lack of transparency in vendor selection.