The Government of India is in the process of bringing out a National Competition Policy that will aim to achieve highest sustainable levels of economic growth, entrepreneurship and employment, Union Minister of Corporate Affairs Dr. Veerappa Moily stated at a workshop in New Delhi on 21 May organised by the Competition Commission of India jointly with UNCTAD to commemorate three years of implementation of India's Competition Act.
According to a report from the Press Information Bureau of the Government of India, Dr. Moily congratulated the Competition Commission of India (CCI) for completing three years of enforcement of competition laws. He observed that some of CCI's decisions have proved to be important milestones in ensuring free play of market forces in a liberalised economy. The Union Minister of Corporate Affairs also stressed that ultimately consumers should be the focus and ultimate beneficiary of any government policy in this area.
Dr. Veerappa Moily opined that the objective of competition laws was to protect competition and not the competitors. He highlighted the need for competition to be promoted, protected and nurtured through appropriate regulatory mechanisms. Policies initiated and pursued in various sectors like manufacturing, electricity, telecommunications, roads, transport, civil aviation, and tourism have yielded rich dividends so far, he said. Dr. Moily stated that there has been an addition of 45 million new entrepreneurs during the last two decades on account of the introduction of competition policies. The Minister expressed the hope that effective enforcement of competition laws and enactment of the new National Competition Policy will pave the way for the second biggest reform initiatives since the 1991 economic reforms.
Shri Ashok Chawla, Chairperson, Competition Commission of India stressed the need to sensitise State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) about the Competition Act so that they could have robust competition compliance and good operating practices that could be emulated by their private-sector counterparts.
Shri Naved Masood, Secretary, Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Shri O.P.Rawat, Secretary, Department of Public Enterprises and Mr. Hassan Qaqaya , Head, Competition and Consumer Protection Branch, UNCTAD also spoke on the occasion.
The two-day workshop is being organised on the subject of Competition Law and State Owned Enterprises. Speakers and participants from Russia, United Kingdom, European Commission, Korea, South Africa and Australia are also participating in the workshop.
