Govt. tendering is an opportunity for companies to grow their business

13th Jan 2010, New Delhi.

Euclid Infotech Private Limited (Tendersinfo.com) and Center for Promoting Sustainable Growth(CPSG), conducted a Conference on Tendering procedures in PSUs and Railways; supported by Punjab National Bank and IFCI Limited at The PARK, New Delhi . The occasion provided various stakeholders in Public Procurement like government departments, PSUs, Railways, State Govts and Private organizations, a common platform to discuss critical issues and the best practices that should be followed with an ultimate objective of achieving overall efficiency and effectiveness in Public Procurement.
The conference saw participation from around 200 delegates across sectors and was graced by speakers –

· Mr. Tejinder Singh Laschar, I.E.S Sr Economic Advisor (Retd.)
· Mr. S R Athawale Executive Director Chief Material Management ONGC
· Mr. Arvind Kishore- Controller Store Northern Railway
· Mr. S K Singh -Executive Director (Contracts and Procurement) GAIL (India Limited)
· Dr V.K.Agarwal -former Law Secretary-Govt of India
· Mr. V.K. Dassani - ADDL GM (contracts and projects), NTPC
· Dr M P Narayanan- Ex CMD, Coal India Ltd,
· Mr Niladri Charan Padhi-former Security Secretary-Govt of India

The Speakers enlightened the audience about various topics like Guidelines for procurement in their respective sectors, New Initiatives taken by PSUs and Railways, Projects that have been successfully completed, the Types of Tenders that are brought about with respect to their requirement and objectives, the concept of Innovative purchasing, the Environmental Aspects, the framework of Regulation in specific sectors and E-Procurement, its reach and effectiveness.

It was discussed that in today's business environment PSUs are expected to run like a private organization with full accountability as well as freedom. Further, use of tax payer's funds also calls for adoption of efficient, responsive and transparent purchase procedures. In order to sustain in the competitive world, today's PSUs & Govt organisations must have Partnership relationship with their suppliers. It was also stated that technological advancements has also helped in clearing the difficult procedures associated with tendering. PSUs in the country are slowly and gradually, following the developed country module of E-Procurements that has been proving to be a less tiring and more efficient procedure to acquire tender. Mr. Tejinder Singh Laschar, I.E.S and former Sr.Economic Advisor, Govt. of India, in his welcome speech spoke about the V-shape recovery and how tendering procedures are affected by such a scenario. He further welcomed the present delegates and encouraged bidders to play the role of a more active and aware bidder.

The event was concluded by a Q&A round, where delegates got a chance to clear their queries with the help of present panel of experts. Mr Sanjay Vyas, Director, Euclid (Tendersinfo.com) awarded the best participant a token of merit. Mr Rakesh Verma, Vice-President (International Projects) Euclid (Tendersinfo.com), declared the event as a success and said that “Bidders has to show trust on tendering authorities and tendering authorities should also treat bidders as a partner, not only as vendors.” He also said that Indian companies should also capitalize on the opportunities arising from Africa through Govt Tenders”

Tendering procedures are synonymous to PSUs and railways in the country. It is an ever existing opportunity for suppliers, yet its capability to be a strong marketing tool has been often overlooked. Bureaucratic supremacy, corruption etc, often refrains bidders from a good business opportunity. The myths attached to participating in tenders are manifold; this leaves a huge impact on the tender’s success. Moreover these perceptions associated with Government tenders are considered to be more prevalent in developing and underdeveloped countries. The conference helped to clear much of the confusions related to tendering procedures in PSUs and Railways.