<p> Market competition and fairplay watchdog Competition Commission of India (CCI) Chairman Ashok Chawla on Friday said the body would require more people in the next couple of years, in order to better handle and investigate complaints against entities and parties that come in front of it.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Talking to reporters on the sidelines of a CII-organised roundtable — ‘The Competition Act and New Challenges to the Industry’ — Chawla said, “During the inception of the CCI, the government had sanctioned a strength of 200 people. Today, we have around 130 people working at the commission, translating to two-thirds our total sanctioned strength.”<br /><br />Besides the need to build internal capacity, Chawla said that personnel skills also need to upgraded. “Among other challenges, the time taken in disposing of behavioural cases must be swift — not more than one year,” he added.<br />The CCI Act was enacted in 2003 and amended in 2007. The regulator’s work is based on the four pillars of prevention of cartelisation, prevention of abuse of dominance, M&A, and advocacy, communication, and outreach.<br /><br />In the last few years, CCI has handled several high-profile complaints against companies which breached competitive practices, and has worked towards fostering fair play and protection of consumers and businesses alike, he said.<br /><br />Referring to the recent imbroglio surrounding realtor DLF, Chawla said, “The DLF case is in front of the Supreme Court and we are awaiting its decision... Few (2-3) fresh cases have come in the meantime, which might be investigated.”<br /><br />The commission is also believed to be looking at complaints against online retailers, following the recent trend of flash sales and heavy discounting of products online. “The CCI has heard the points of view of both (online and mainstream retailers). In the near future, we will see if anything ought to be investigated in this regard.”<br /><br />Earlier in the day, former director-general of the National Council for Applied Economic Research (NCAER), S L Rao, said the CCI has a role to play when it comes to tackling natural monopolies.<br /><br />“The state of infrastructure in the country must be assessed. The government dominates infrastructure, with favoured treatment bestowed on state-owned enterprises,” Rao rued.<br /><br /></p>
<p> Market competition and fairplay watchdog Competition Commission of India (CCI) Chairman Ashok Chawla on Friday said the body would require more people in the next couple of years, in order to better handle and investigate complaints against entities and parties that come in front of it.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Talking to reporters on the sidelines of a CII-organised roundtable — ‘The Competition Act and New Challenges to the Industry’ — Chawla said, “During the inception of the CCI, the government had sanctioned a strength of 200 people. Today, we have around 130 people working at the commission, translating to two-thirds our total sanctioned strength.”<br /><br />Besides the need to build internal capacity, Chawla said that personnel skills also need to upgraded. “Among other challenges, the time taken in disposing of behavioural cases must be swift — not more than one year,” he added.<br />The CCI Act was enacted in 2003 and amended in 2007. The regulator’s work is based on the four pillars of prevention of cartelisation, prevention of abuse of dominance, M&A, and advocacy, communication, and outreach.<br /><br />In the last few years, CCI has handled several high-profile complaints against companies which breached competitive practices, and has worked towards fostering fair play and protection of consumers and businesses alike, he said.<br /><br />Referring to the recent imbroglio surrounding realtor DLF, Chawla said, “The DLF case is in front of the Supreme Court and we are awaiting its decision... Few (2-3) fresh cases have come in the meantime, which might be investigated.”<br /><br />The commission is also believed to be looking at complaints against online retailers, following the recent trend of flash sales and heavy discounting of products online. “The CCI has heard the points of view of both (online and mainstream retailers). In the near future, we will see if anything ought to be investigated in this regard.”<br /><br />Earlier in the day, former director-general of the National Council for Applied Economic Research (NCAER), S L Rao, said the CCI has a role to play when it comes to tackling natural monopolies.<br /><br />“The state of infrastructure in the country must be assessed. The government dominates infrastructure, with favoured treatment bestowed on state-owned enterprises,” Rao rued.<br /><br /></p>
