'Nations remain underdeveloped when government policies limit competition'

Minister of State (MoS) for Corporate Affairs P.P. Chaudhary on Wednesday highlighted that government policies which limit competition between companies hamper the country's economic growth.

Speaking at the 17th International Competition Network (ICN) Annual Conference organised by the Competition Commission of India (CCI), Chuadhary said "The role of well-functioning markets in achieving developmental goals has been recognised in the development literature as well. When government policies limit competition, more efficient companies can't replace less efficient ones. Economic growth slows and nations remain underdeveloped. It is in this context that the instrumentality of the Competition Law of India must be understood."

Talking about the regulatory framework chalked out by various countries, Chaudhary stated that the architecture of the Indian Competition Law, not only avoids an inconsistent application of the law but also aligns with global antitrust practices, and integrates seamlessly with a globalised law enforcement regime.

 

"The regulatory framework controlling trade and market competition are influenced largely by national governments and hence result in conflicting outcomes. This has triggered the need for the authorities to cooperate with their international counterparts in order to reduce the risk of diverging assessments and asymmetry of information in parallel procedures. Effective cooperation between nation-states to implement competition laws in letter and spirit is becoming essential to overcome the challenges faced in issues such as cross-border investigations and mergers while confronting different legal systems, evidence collection mechanism and also when implementing leniency and immunity programmes," he explained.

Chaudhary further shed light on the situation of the Indian Competition law, and lauded the ICN for its contribution in promoting international antitrust cooperation through a number of MoUs with other bodies.

"It is now time that the naysayers of globalisation realise that its flow is irreversible despite the recent populist backlash and resurgence of protectionism. The world must come together to buck this trend and India's stand in terms of its preference for a multi-polar world, is abundantly clear. We are also clear that the soft international architecture in the area of competition law and policy will have to muddle with this multi-polar reality. Multi-polarity and legal pluralism will predictably form essential features of the global governance of antitrust," he said.

With regards to India's 42-place jump in the World Bank's Ease of Doing Business ranking, Chaudhary attributed the same to the rollout of economic reforms such as the demonetisation drive and Goods and Services Tax (GST), adding that these moves will help in laying the foundation for cleaner economic organisation of the nation.

Furthermore, the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, Chaudhary said, has put in place the much-sought legal framework for speedier, transparent and efficient resolution of corporate insolvencies replacing the erstwhile stringent, archaic and time consuming exit regulations, as it provides entrepreneurs an opportunity to quickly liquidate loss making ventures and re-invest the recovered credit in new ventures.