Present Govt Tendering System is Skewed, Doesn’t Allow Micro Industry Players Access: Sanjoy Roy

by  Komal Darji Industry Watch | December 21, 2020 | Interview

Sanjoy Roy Teamwork Arts Congregations India EEMA

With the virtual ‘CONGREGATIONS INDIA: Government, Political & Religious Events Summit’ by EVENTFAQs Media coming up on Thursday, December 24, 2020, we reached out to co-curators of the event for their valuable views on the scale of Government events as well as the expertise required by events industry professionals to manage them.

In this interview, Sanjoy Roy, Managing Director, Teamwork Arts, an entertainment company with roots in the performing arts, social action and the corporate world, shares his insights. Roy is also a co-curator of the #CongregationsIndia event.

Growing government events in India
Talking about Government events in India including cultural, religious and sporting events and how each segment is growing, Sanjoy Roy says, “The estimated Government spends across this sector is estimated to be Rs 30,000 crore. As there is no real survey across State and Central Government spends across these sectors, this number is a guess-estimate.”

“Political events have pole-vaulted in recent years and have been taken to a completely different level of preparedness. Earlier, election rallies were organised by local district representatives of the political parties who manoeuvred to get the local tent house, lighting person, etc., to provide facilities free or at a discounted cost. Today, this has changed. Political parties want the best facilities and are happy to pay for the services. It’s difficult to calculate the exact breadth of this phenomenon as the expenses still tend to fluctuate,” he adds.

An event manager’s guide
Commenting on the potential that Government events hold for event managers, Roy says, “As the Government tenders all its projects in this area, the opportunity is substantial. Teamwork Arts does not tender for Government projects as a rule and we do not produce any political events.”

Talking about the special skillsets required to handle Government and political events, he explains, “Building trust with Government handlers, being able to make a hundred changes depending on how the line managers in the Government work, and the ability to ease the process of getting your money out are necessary skills. The present tendering system is skewed. It doesn’t allow for micro industry players to access these, due to onerous bank guarantees, changing Governments and bureaucracy and other inter-related issues.”

Return of large scale congregations
“Well, it seems that those attending political events are immune to Covid-19! Congregations have been allowed for political rallies, not that anyone has asked for permission for it. Large scale gatherings are still at least a year, if not 18-24 months, away. It will be interesting to see how the Olympics pan out next summer,” Roy says.

Talking of his own experience of working on Government events, he adds, “We have worked with a number of Indian Government organisations including the ICCR, MEA, Rashtrapati Bhawan, Ministry of Culture, etc., and have enjoyed the challenge and enthusiasm to think outside the box and create interesting collaborative opportunities. Internationally, we have worked with the Governments of Australia, Turkey, Egypt, UK, Boulder, Toronto, Singapore, Shanghai, etc., - each has been a completely different experience, with challenges and many a story to share.”

To register for Congregations India, click here - https://bit.ly/3gkwLVh

For more details contact: Ramesh Patil: ramesh@eventfaqs.com