The government has not been able to make the Competition Commission of India (CCI) very effective, Union Law Secretary Suresh Chandra said on Friday.
“The original idea was of having CCI as a multi-member and an effective body to regulate and deal with all unfair trade practices and the cartels, mergers and acquisitions… to some extent perhaps, we have not been able to make the CCI very effective,” Chandra said in his address at an Assocham international conference on ‘Competition Law: Opportunities and Challenges in India.’
There is a need to understand the initial objective of bringing this law and its success.
“Initially, it was thought that the Commission which is a mechanism to regulate the free level playing field, being a multi-member body will have a specialised person from the legal field, international trade, economics and those who understand how business functions,” he said.
It was also envisaged that the fair trade regulator will carry out the function of competition advocacy and give recommendations to the Centre either on their request or suo motu to bring whatever necessary improvements in the field of competition law.
It was also not thought of that it will also have an appellate tribunal over and above this. It was thought at that time if there is anything, it will go to the court of law, Chandra added.
The Indian economy, in the last two decades, has undergone transformation with gradual loosening controls over private sector participation and foreign investments.
“However, a stronger competition law regime is needed not only to protect the interests of the smaller market players and consumers but also to attract investments in a particular sector,” said Chandra.