Urgent need to sensitize public sector, state owned units on competition issues

NEW DELHI: Stressing on the need to sensitize state owned enterprises on competition issues and primarily Competition Act, the anti trust regulator said that public units need to set precedents for private companies.

Speaking at the event celebrating three years of the Competition Commission of India (CCI), Ashok Chawla, Chairman, CCI said,” State owned enterprises need to understand the nuances of the Act so that they could have robust competition compliance and good operating practices that could be emulated by their private counter parts.”

Off late CCI has been increasingly pulling up state run monopolies as it is investigating many such units such as the Coal India Limited, the railways, petroleum ministry on its procurement and contract policies.

Veerappa Moily, union minister of Corporate Affairs urged for the need to focus on consumers whenever a policy is made and highlighted the need for competition to be promoted, protected and nurtured though appropriate regulatory mechanisms.

“Some of the decisions of CCI have proved to be important milestones in ensuring free play of market forces in a liberalized economy,” observed Moily while stating that the government is also in the process to bring out a National Competition Policy to achieve highest sustainable levels of economic growth.

Further the minister said that enforcements of the Competition Law as well as the new National Policy will jointly bring in the second biggest reform initiative after the 1991 liberalization reforms.