<b>Manas Kumar Chaudhuri & Avirup Bose:</b> Curbing cartels in India

CCI's first leniency order is an important move in this direction

Prosecuting hard-core cartels comes first in the agenda of global competition agencies, especially those of the developing world where such arrangements spike price, reduce production and delay technological developments, harming consumer welfare. Latest research shows that cartels in developing countries have caused prices to rise by 25 per cent over their competitive benchmarks; accounting for actual consumer loss up to one per cent of the GDP of the developing world (OECD, 2015).
 
Therefore, it is only natural for India’s market watchdog, the Competition Commission of India (CCI), to prioritise its enforcement efforts to detect and prosecute cartel activity among