New Delhi, Aug 10 (IANS): Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Sunday said that Indian Railways will save at least 10-15 per cent by procuring all the required goods and services through the government e-marketplace (GeM).

In his address at the National Public Procurement Conclave, Goyal, who is also the Railways Minister, said that the railways currently spends Rs 70,000 crore per annum on procurement and the integration of its system with the GeM will lead to saving of at least 10-15 per cent which is almost Rs 10,000 crore, according to a Commerce Ministry statement.

He said that GeM and Indian Railways are working earnestly to integrate the transporter's procurements, and besides the saving of money, this will also save efforts, and manpower and bring in more efficiency and transparency in the system.

Lauding the success of GeM in becoming a game changer in the government procurement, Goyal called upon more and more buyers and sellers to join the system. Expressing the confidence that GeM will be able to unlock the value and save money for the nation's development, he said that it has helped in transparent, seamless, easy, efficient and faster procurements.

Goyal also cautioned the unscrupulous sellers from pushing poor quality goods or charging exorbitant prices, as they will not only be blacklisted from the GeM portal but from the entire government ecosystem.