India attends G20 Working Group Meeting at Brasilia (See 'Corp Brief') SEBI ICDR Regulations, 2018 - By not locking entire pre-preferential allotment shareholding of two allottees Noticee violated SEBI ICDR Regulations : SEBI (See 'Legal Desk') Arbitration Act - Serving officer of respondent shall act as arbitrator is invalid stipulation which makes it incumbent on Court to appoint independent sole arbitrator to adjudicate disputes : HC (See 'Legal Desk') SEBI Act - Appellant is misleading its investors that it is registered with SEBI as investment advisor and played fraud in violation of IA Regulations : SAT (See 'Legal Desk') CCI okays subscription to CCPS B of API Holdings by MEMG LLP and 360 ONE (See 'Corp Brief') PMLA - Court will not cancel interim bail granted to respondent as interim bail is about to expire within short period of time : HC (See 'Legal Desk') CCI approves 100% acquisition of Lanco Amarkantak Power by Adani (See 'Corp Brief') CGST Act - Case does not fall under ambit of Anti-Profiteering provisions of CGST Act : CCI (See 'Legal Desk') BRO connects strategic Nimmu-Padam-Darcha road in Ladakh (See 'Corp Brief') Arbitration Act - Any party having failed to make substantive claim in arbitral proceedings, cannot seek recovery by way of interim mandatory injunction u/s 17 : HC (See 'Legal Desk') SEBI Act - Trading pattern of appellants with other noticees indicate that there is meeting of mind between appellants and other noticees : SAT (See 'Legal Desk') SARFAESI Act - Respondent shall not take any coercive steps against Petitioner prior to 15th March, 2024 provided Petitioners file appeal before DRAT on or before March 01, 2024 : HC (See 'Legal Desk') Guj Govt sets up Telecom Facilitation Centre to support stakeholders (See 'Corp Brief') SEBI Act - SEBI shall not initiate any enforcement action against Applicant for SAST violations provided representation made in settlement proceedings are subsequently not found untrue : SEBI (See 'Legal Desk') India, Bhutan ink MoUs on clean energy, agriculture & tourism (See 'Corp Brief') PMLA - Surgery of knee cannot be categorized as 'life-threatening situation' and surgery which is to be undergone by applicant is not of such nature which necessitates applicant's release on interim bail only : HC (See 'Legal Desk') NCC, NPCIL ink MoU to raise awareness on peaceful use of nuclear power (See 'Corp Brief') SEBI - Any violation committed by Company which is fraudulent in nature has to be attributed to individual acting as Director at relevant point of time : SAT (See 'Legal Desk') Golden Jubilee Celebration of KVKs held in Puducherry (See 'Corp Brief') PMLA - Court declined to grant bail to Satyendar Jain in money laundering case and also cancelled interim bail granted as there are sufficient material collected by ED to show that he is prima facie guilty of alleged offences : SC (See 'Legal Desk') 42nd IPHE Steering Committee to be hosted by EU (See 'Corp Brief') IBC - Application filed u/s 7 of code can be admitted as debt and default has been established : NCLT (See 'Legal Desk')

GeM, SEWA ink MoU to enable engagement of last-mile women-led enterprises

Published: May 20, 2022

By TIOLCorplaws News Service

NEW DELHI, MAY 20, 2022: GOVERNMENT eMarketplace [GeM] and Self Employed Women's Association [SEWA] inked a Memorandum of Understanding [MoU] for the advocacy, outreach, mobilization and capacity-building of last-mile women-led micro and small enterprises, women entrepreneurs, SHGs, Associations, Cooperatives, Collectives, Not-for-Profit Section 8 Companies, and various Voluntary Organizations [VO] as sellers and service providers in public procurement. The MoU was signed by PK Singh, CEO, GeM, and Ms. Rehana Riyawala, Vice-President, SEWA in New Delhi on 19th  May 2022.

GeM will train SEWA members to assist and enable women-led micro and small enterprises, women entrepreneurs, SHGs among others, with GeM processes related to seller registration and on-boarding on the platform, upload/ update of product/ service catalogues, acceptance of orders, participation in bids floated by Govt buyers, fulfilment of orders and invoice generation to receive payments directly into their bank accounts through the unified online national public procurement platform.

Vernacular language-based training curriculum  in print and digital media  for women entrepreneurs and SHGs  based on the requirement of the participants will being developed by GeM in consultation with SEWA. Training sessions will be conducted through in-person and virtual training modes  for SEWA members in district and block-level, who in turn will train last-mile women entrepreneurs and SHGs  with various buyer and seller functionalities on the GeM portal.

GeM has sought to address the twin challenges of "access to markets" through GeM Outlet Stores and "access to finance" through GeM Sahay application for such under-served seller groups.  Marketplace filters and icons on product display page for Women MSE entrepreneurs have been enabled on the portal to help government buyers meet the 3 percent [%] procurement target set aside for women-led MSEs  in accordance with the  Public Procurement Policy for MSEs [PPP-MSE] for promotion of women-led micro, small enterprises. Further, GeM has created 200+ handicraft, handloom and office accessories product categories, along with 8 dedicated outlet stores to showcase and promote products made by women entrepreneurs from the informal sector. Creation of "Stitching and tailoring", "canteen and catering", "housekeeping" service categories tailored to generate employment and business opportunities for women in urban and rural areas are also available on the portal.

Social inclusion being one of its core values, Government e Marketplace [GeM] is focused on increasing participation from last-mile women-led micro and small enterprises, women entrepreneurs, and SHGs who face challenges in accessing government markets. Last-mile under-served seller groups in rural areas, namely; women-led micro and small enterprises, women entrepreneurs, SHGs and others such as khadi and tribal entrepreneurs, farmer producer organizations [FPO], Startups, artisans and weavers, divyangjan and Hunar-Haat craftsmen, bamboo producers, and allied stakeholders' such as Corporates, Private Companies Colleges, Scientific and Technical Research Institutions, and Universities, among others in public procurement will benefit from this MoU. 

Speaking at the ceremony, PK Singh, CEO, GeM mentioned that "inclusion is a core value at GeM, and this partnership will leverage the wide network of women entrepreneurs through SEWA to ensure the inclusion and participation of last-mile women entrepreneurs and women SHGs on GeM". Presently, 1.31 lakh+ women MSE entrepreneurs are registered on the GeM portal and they have fulfilled approx. 5.7 lakh+ orders worth INR 10,752 Crore in gross merchandise value.

Smt. Rehana Riyawala, Vice-President, SEWA said that "the signing of MoU with GeM will usher access to an untapped market in public procurement for millions of women entrepreneurs from the informal sector". Engagement of last-mile women-led micro and small enterprises, SHGs among others with Local Bodies, Panchayati Raj institutions located in block and district-level will spur hyper-local procurement of goods and services leading to employment- generation and wealth-creation in rural India.

The MoU will align the untapped entrepreneurial energy of last-mile producers and service-providers in rural India with local government buyers. Social and economic inclusion of last-mile women-led micro and small enterprises, women entrepreneurs, and SHGs from the informal sector in public procurement will lead to integration of local value-chains through "Vocal for Local" and "Make in India" initiatives of the Government, thereby furthering the aim of ensuring a self-reliant "Atmanirbhar Bharat".

About Us:

Government e Marketplace [GeM]

GeM is a Section 8 company setup under the administrative control of the Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, for procurement of goods and services by Central Ministries, State Departments, PSEs and Autonomous Bodies.

Self-Employed Women's Association [SEWA]

SEWA is the premier Women's organization in India that aligns women organizations with Government programs, facilitating market linkages for informal women workers to develop their livelihoods and strengthening collective bargaining power of women workers by offering them new livelihood opportunities, amongst various other objectives.

TIOL CORP SEARCH

TIOL GROUP WEBSITES