Terming it as a need of the hour, Competition Commission of India (CCI) chairman Ashok Chawla has called adoption of a National Competition Policy to help address entry barriers in public and private sectors.
“It was important to adopt the policy in the country where the state still play a major role in the economic sectors. The policy paradigm in the liberalised era still has a tilt towards control by the state. It is important to adopt National Competition Policy for India,’’ he said while speaking at a seminar on ``National Competition Policy; Second Big Wave of Reforms’’, organised by Consumer Unity & Trust Society (CUTS) International.
Mr. Chawla said the policy is important to tackle entry barriers that are inbuilt into the system and in larger sense the policy will lead to more robust economic welfare and provide governance to the country. ``The policies prior to 1991 have been institutionalised and it is difficult to demolish such institutions. Thus, we need independent agencies to review such policies to make them competition compliant and more relevant,’’ he said.
Speaking at the event Planning Commission member Arun Maira said redesigning of institutions is needed to address challenges facing the policy.
Former chairman of the National Competition Policy committee Dhanendra Kumar was of the view that while competition in markets will be monitored by the CCI, anti- competitive outcomes of government policies, rules and regulations need to be reviewed through implementation of the competition policy. The policy broadly refers to government measures, policies and regulations aimed at controlling the behaviour of enterprises and structure of markets.
Pradeep S Mehta, secretary general, CUTS said many countries have adopted such policies which has resulted in higher growth and thus enhanced public welfare. He gave an overview of a recent study that CUTS had undertaken which advocates certain interventions that could help remove competition distortions that exist in the markets.
Andrew Soper, representing British High Commission in India, said UK firms are increasingly interested in India from a trade and investment perspective, and hence it was necessary for British High Commission to get a better understanding of the prevailing business environment in some of these key sectors.
