Prime Minister Narendra Modi plans to move all government purchases, from paper clips to power plant turbines, to an Amazon-like online marketplace that could eventually be worth a fifth of the country’s $2 trillion economy. The portal is expected to support trades worth 20 percent of India’s GDP once all state governments, state-owned companies, utilities, defense and railways come online. The e-market is at the center of Modi’s key reforms: ‘Digital India,’ aimed at increasing the ease of doing business in the notoriously red tape-heavy country. The platform isn’t very different from Amazon or its local rivals Flipkart or Snapdeal in look or design, allowing users to choose from products listed alongside photos and detailed specifications. It even allows them to compare prices offered on the marketplace with those on rival websites. What differs, though, is the scale and scope of change it can bring. The Indian government currently uses a tender system to buy everything from paper and cars to defense equipment. The new system allows vendors across India to bid for any government purchase. India’s finance ministry changed rules to allow payments within 10 days of the purchase. This experiment will put India on par with nations like the U.S. and South Korea.

(Economic Times)