Competition Commission of India

Q. Why is this in news? 

Union Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs recently commemorated the 12^th Annual Day of the Competition Commission of India (CCI).

Q. What is Competition Commission of India? 

• CCI is the competition regulator in India.
• It is a statutory body responsible for enforcing The Competition Act, 2002 and promoting competition throughout India and preventing activities that have an appreciable adverse effect on competition in India.
• It was established on 14 October 2003. It became fully functional in May 2009.

Q. What about Its establishment? 

• The idea of CCI was conceived and introduced in the form of The Competition Act, 2002 by the Vajpayee government.
• A need was felt to promote competition and private enterprise especially in the light of 1991 Indian economic liberalization.
• The Competition Act, 2002, as amended by the Competition (Amendment) Act, 2007, follows the philosophy of modern competition laws.
• The Act prohibits anti-competitive agreements, abuse of dominant position by enterprises, and regulates combinations (acquisition, acquiring of control, and Merger and acquisition), which causes or likely to cause an appreciable adverse effect on competition within India.

Q. What are its objectives? 

Its objectives include: 

• Make the markets work for the benefit and welfare of consumers.
• Ensure fair and healthy competition in economic activities in the country for faster and inclusive growth and development of the economy.
• Implement competition policies with an aim to effectuate the most efficient utilization of economic resources.
• Develop and nurture effective relations and interactions with sectoral regulators to ensure smooth alignment of sectoral regulatory laws in tandem with the competition law.
• Effectively carry out competition advocacy and spread the information on benefits of competition among all stakeholders to establish and nurture competition culture in Indian economy.