CCI looks for permanent staff amid manpower crunch

Faced with a staff crunch, fair trade regulator CCI is trying to hire a larger number of permanent staff members and also make the deputation terms more attractive to attract right talent.
More than half of the positions in the investigation division of CCI (Competition Commission of India) are vacant.
CCI Chairman Ashok Chawla said that the Director General Office (the investigative arm) is working at about "40-45 per cent" of the sanctioned manpower strength, although the situation is a tad better at the Commission, which is operating with around 65-70 per cent staff.
Chawla said the situation is tight at the DG's office in particular in terms of manpower where the staffers are people who are on deputation.

"We have resource crunch at the DG's office, particularly, and to some extent even at the Commission," Chawla told PTI in an interview.
Stressing that efforts are being made to fill the vacant posts, he said CCI is also trying to make up for the shortage by engaging contractual experts and professionals.

"That is a short-term supplement," he noted.
The Competition Commission of India (CCI), which has been witnessing an increased number of complaints apart from notices seeking approvals, has taken up the matter with the government.
"We have requested the government and we are pursuing it," Chawla said in response to a query on staff shortage.

"Very often, people are not willing to come for deputation on short periods. So, the organisational architecture of the DG's office could perhaps be modified to provide for a mix of permanent staff and deputation, which will then give it (manpower) a pool all the time," he said.
According to him, such an arrangement would also make CCI more robust, apart from giving an "institutional connect and memory".
CCI comes under the administrative control of the Corporate Affairs Ministry.
As part of efforts to address manpower crunch, the watchdog recently called for applications from professionals and experts in areas, including law and economics.

CCI has also increased the pay packet for experts and professionals hired by it. Now, such people would get a 10 per cent increment after completing one year.
For experts and professionals, the regulator has hiked monthly remuneration by Rs 10,000 at all levels. They are classified into five categories based on their experience.
In this regard, the Competition Commission of India (Procedure for Engagement of Experts and Professionals) Regulations were amended in June.