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Government e-Marketplace

Why in News?
The Prime Minister has expressed happiness on GeM crossing Gross Merchandise Value of ₹2 lakh crore in 2022–23.

About Government e-Marketplace (GeM)

• The Government e Marketplace (GeM) was launched on August 9, 2016.
• To create an open and transparent procurement platform for Government buyers.
• A Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) by the name of Government e- Marketplace (GeM SPV) was set up as the National Public Procurement Portal
• It has been developed by Directorate General of Supplies and Disposals (Ministry of Commerce and Industry) with technical support of National e-governance Division (Ministry of Electronic and Information Technology).
• It is a completely paperless, cashless and system driven e-market place that enables procurement of common use goods and services with minimal human interface.
•  At present, the platform is open for procurement by all government buyers: central and state ministries, departments, public sector enterprises, autonomous institutions, local bodies, etc.
• As per existing mandate, GeM is not available for use by private sector buyers.
• Suppliers (sellers) can be from across all segments: government or private.

The following are the objectives of the online platform

• Easier availability of various goods and services for the government buyers.
• Create transparency in public procurement.
• Cost saving on government expenditure.
• Achieve and promote cashless transactions.

India Post Payments Bank

Why in News?
India Post Payments Bank (IPPB), in collaboration with Airtel, announced the launch of WhatsApp Banking Services for IPPB customers in New Delhi, enabling them to access banking services on their mobile phone.

Key points

• IPPB and Airtel have collaborated to launch WhatsApp Banking Services for IPPB customers in New Delhi.
• The service allows customers to access banking services on their mobile phones, including doorstep service request and locating the nearest Post Office.
• The Airtel – IPPB WhatsApp Banking solution is also building multi-language support to cater to customers in rural parts of the country.
• Airtel has been delivering 250 million messages per month to IPPB’s customers, many of whom are located in mofussil towns and tier 2,3 cities.
• The addition of WhatsApp messaging will further the Digital India mission by improving accessibility to banking services for customers in rural pockets of the country.

About India Post Payments Bank (IPPB)

• The India Post Payments Bank is a public sector payments bank from India operated by the India Post.
• The India Post Payment Bank (IPPB) was setup under the Department of Post, Ministry of Communication with 100% equity Owned by Government of India.
• The India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) will be like any other banks but its operations will be on a smaller scale without involving any credit risk.
• It will carry out most banking operations like accepting deposits but won’t advance loans or issue credit cards.
• Motto: “Every customer is important, every transaction is significant and every deposit is valuable”.
• Vision: “Building the most accessible, affordable and trusted bank for the common man”.
• Mission: “Spearheading financial inclusion by removing barriers and reducing costs for accessing banking services”.
• The IPPB has been integrated with Post Office Savings Bank (POSB).
• The IPPB is the sixth Payments bank, which has become operational after Aditya Birla, Airtel, Fino, Jio and Paytm Payments Banks.
• The freshly-minted payments bank will accept deposits of up to Rs. 1 lakh, offer remittance services, mobile payments/transfers/purchases and other banking services like ATM/debit cards, net banking and third-party fund transfers.
• The Payments bank are licensed under Section 23 of the Banking Regulation Act 1949, and registered as public limited company under the Companies Act, 2013.