The Centre launched a settlement scheme, Government e-Marketplace (GeM) to settle pending contractual disputes with vendors or suppliers to government and its undertakings and has set October 31 as the deadline for submitting claims for consideration. The scheme was announced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the Union Budget 2023-24. The Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance, had issued an order in May indicating detailed guidelines of the scheme. It will apply to all domestic contractual disputes where one of the parties is either the government or an organisation working under its control. Under the scheme, for court awards passed on or before April 2023, the settlement amount offered to the contractor will be up to 85 per cent of the net amount awarded or upheld by the court. For arbitral awards passed on or before January 2023, the settlement amount offered is up to 65 per cent of the net amount awarded. The Government e-Marketplace (GeM) has developed a dedicated web-page for implementation of this scheme. Eligible claims shall be processed only through the GeM.