Why in the news?

The Finance Minister recently attended the Competition Commission of India’s 13th Annual Day celebration (CCI).

The Finance Minister also introduced an enhanced CCI website and opened the regional office in Kolkata.

What exactly is the Competition Commission of India (CCI)?

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) is a statutory entity of the Government of India charged with executing the Competition Act, 2002, and was established in March 2009.

On the recommendations of the Raghavan committee, the Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Act of 1969 (MRTP Act) was abolished and replaced by the Competition Act of 2002.

• The Commission is made up of one Chairperson and six Members who are chosen by the Central Government.
• The commission is a quasi-judicial entity that issues opinions to statutory agencies as well as handles other situations. The Chairperson and the other Members must be full-time members.

The Chairperson and each other Member shall be a person of ability, integrity, and standing who has been or is qualified to be a judge of a High Court, or who has special knowledge of, and professional experience of not less than fifteen years in international trade, economics, business, commerce, law, finance, accountancy, management, industry, public affairs, administration, or any other matter which, in the opinion of the CCI,

What is the 2002 Competition Act?

• The Competition Act was passed in 2002, and the Competition (Amendment) Act of 2007 revised it. It adheres to the principles of modern competition legislation.
• The Act bans anti-competitive agreements, enterprise abuse of dominant position, and combinations that have a significant adverse effect on competition within India.
• The Competition Commission of India and the Competition Appellate Tribunal have been created in compliance with the terms of the Amendment Act.
• In 2017, the government abolished the Competition Appellate Tribunal (COMPAT) and replaced it with the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT).

What are CCI’s Functions and Role?

• To eradicate anti-competitive behaviours, defend consumer interests, and ensure free commerce in India’s marketplaces.
• To provide an opinion on competition problems in response to a referral from a governmental authority.
• To conduct competition advocacy, raise public awareness, and provide competition training.
• Consumer Welfare: Making markets function for consumers’ benefit and welfare.
• Ensure fair and healthy competition in economic activities in the country for faster and more inclusive economic growth and development.
• Implement competition policies with the goal of achieving the most effective use of economic resources.
• Carry out effective competition advocacy and disseminate information on the benefits of competition to all stakeholders in order to build and foster a competition culture in the Indian economy.

What are CCI’s current accomplishments?

• The Commission has handled over 1,200 antitrust complaints, resulting in an antitrust case disposition rate of 89 percent.
• It has also assessed over 900 mergers and acquisitions to date, clearing the majority of them in a record average time of 30 days.
• The Commission has also introduced various innovations, such as the ‘Green Channel’ option for automated clearance on combinations/transactions, and has cleared more than 50 of these transactions.

What are the Obstacles?

• Digitization’s Challenges: Because we did not have a robust digital economy at the time of the Act’s implementation (2002), CCI should comprehend the technological subtleties of the new digital era.
• Need for a New Market Definition: India’s Commission must change its market definition immediately. Because there are no limits in the digital domain, establishing relevant markets has been a difficult issue for regulators worldwide.
• Cartelization is a threat. There is the possibility of cartelization posing a hazard. The supply chain has been harmed as a result of the global lack of supplies caused by the epidemic, and now as a result of the war in Eastern Europe.

The Way Forward

• With the advent of Web 3.0, AI, IoT, Blockchain, and other technological developments, and the emergence of issues such as data protection and privacy, platform neutrality, deep discounting, killer acquisitions, and so on, India requires a robust competition law that is tuned to meet the needs of today’s techno-legal world, enabling a true level playing field for digital market players.
• CCI should comprehend the new digital era’s technological complexities and if these markets are being used fairly, effectively, and transparently for the advantage of consumers.
• FAQs can become a permanent advocacy tool that can be utilised to spread information in a ready-to-use style.
• This would reinforce CCI’s standing as a proactive and forward-thinking regulator, and such recommendations would assist market participants in taking preventive steps.