National flags worth over Rs 60 crore procured via GeM portal from July 1 to August 15

More than 2.36 crore national flags worth over Rs 60 crore were procured by different government departments and states from the public buying portal Government e-Marketplace (GeM) between July 1 and August 15, according to official data. These procurements were carried out for the 'Har Ghar Tiranga' campaign.

The GeM was launched on August 9, 2016, by the Commerce Ministry to create an open and transparent procurement platform for government buyers. The platform is open for procurement by all government buyers -- central and state ministries, departments, public sector enterprises, autonomous institutions and local bodies.

"Being an online platform it was possible for GeM to rapidly onboard sellers and meet very large requirements for an item that has had no history of procurement at such a scale. The team at GeM regularly interacted with buyer entities to ensure that the procurement process was smooth, and delivery was made in time," GeM CEO PK Singh said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said public response to his government's 'Har Ghar Tiranga' campaign is an indication of the revival of the country's collective conscience and its strength, which even "big socialists and experts of social science" cannot imagine.<