Competition Commission of India to play crucial role in the vibrant Indian market – Salman Khurshid
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

20:26 IST
The Minister for Corporate Affairs, Shri Salman Khurshid here today inaugurated the first National Conference on ‘State of Competition in the Indian Economy’ after the Competition Commission of India (CCI) became functional. The two-day conference is being jointly organized by the CCI, World Bank, FIAS and DFID.

In his inaugural address, the Minister emphasized upon the avowed objective of the Government – ‘Growth with equity’ and the crucial role the Competition Commission of India is expected to play in promoting and ensuring free and fair competition in the market. He appreciated the good work being done by the CCI in the field of competition advocacy and expressed faith in the capabilities of the Commission in achieving the objectives of the Competition Act, 2002.

Shri Khurshid also informed the gathering, which included eminent experts on competition policy and law from different parts of the world, about the various reform measures being taken by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs which would give the required impetus to the growth process at a time when the world is passing through a difficult financial crisis. Re-codification of the company law and its early passage by the parliament, notification of Accounting Standards and their intended convergence with IFRS by 2011 & successful implementation of the e-governance program and expansion of its coverage were amongst the main initiatives mentioned by the Minister. The new law being developed by his Ministry on Valuation Professionals also found a mention.

The Conference is having six Technical Sessions spread over two days covering the ‘state of competition in the Indian economy, ‘issues relating to application of competition law’, ‘legal issues of relevance to competition Act’, and the ‘techniques and application of competition assessment’. The Conference also covers six studies encompassing competition issues in seven sectors and also competition issues in concessions in the infrastructure. The sector specific studies on competition issues that would be covered in the conference include: air transport sector – both airlines and airports; sea ports and railways; energy sector; steel; petroleum refining; and the pharmaceutical industry. Competition issues in ‘concession’ agreements are covered by one of the studies which will be presented..

The Conference is part of the competition advocacy mandate of the Commission. Since its inception 18 research studies were commissioned and of these 16 have been completed. Two studies are in the process of being finalized. The objective of these studies is threefold: to assist in capacity building for research on competition issues among Indian researchers; to enable the Commission to understand the state of competition in different sectors of the economy; and to use the results of the studies for competition advocacy with central and state governments and with industry.