Established in October 2003, the CCI needs at least three members for quorum. The Ministry of Corporate Affairs today issued advertisements in newspapers inviting applications for the posts by June 16.
This is a crucial step towwards making the commission functional as without at least three members, its powers cannot be notified.
The commission had recently expressed its inability in taking action against the alleged cartelisation in the steel industry. This followed Finance Minister P Chidambaram accusing steel and cement industries of acting as cartels and warning that the government would take all steps to break the arrangement.
Addressing the media after meeting the representatives of the steel companies, Vinod Dhall, the acting chairman, had said that pending the notification of the commission's powers, it was not in a position to take any action against the alleged cartelisation.
The government has faced criticism for the delay in making the CCI functional. India is perhaps the only major economy in the world without a fully functional competition regulator.
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The tenure of the chairman and other five members would be five years with a fixed pay-scale of Rs 26,000. However, the government has not made clear whether the pay scale of the members appointed will be increased according to the recommendation of the Sixth Pay Commission, which has suggested a substantial hike in compensation for regulators in the country.