Ensuring free and fair markets is not merely an economic need but a democratic one and the Competition Commission of India (CCI) plays an important role against this backdrop, to keep the competition alive in the markets, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Tuesday.
Addressing the 16th \u2018Annual Day Celebrations\u2019 of the market watchdog here, FM Sitharaman said that competition drives efficiency, nurtures innovation and benefits consumers.
\u201cFor innovation, competition acts as a relentless nudge. In a monopolistic environment, there is no urgency to evolve. Whereas with competition, the fear of being outpaced forces organisations to innovate \u2014 in technology, in design, in service, in delivery,\u201d she told the gathering.
According to the minister, free and fair markets ensure that no single player can corner resources, suppress choice, or distort price discovery.
\u201cThis benefits our consumers,\u201d she added.
The enactment of the Competition Act in 2002 was a landmark reform in India\u2019s journey from a centrally planned regime to a market-driven economy, and the Commission has emerged as a key institution in safeguarding the spirit of liberalisation while checking its excesses.
\u201cThe mandate of the CCI under the Competition Act is threefold: To promote and sustain competition in markets, to protect the interests of consumers and ensure freedom of trade, and to prevent practices having an adverse effect on competition,\u201d the Finance Minister said.
In today\u2019s interconnected and fast-paced global economy, delays in regulatory clearances can lead to uncertainty, disrupt commercial timelines, and potentially erode the intended value of transactions.
\u201cIt is, therefore, imperative that regulatory frameworks, while maintaining rigorous oversight, also facilitate swift and seamless approvals for combinations that pose no harm to competition,\u201d FM Sitharaman emphasised.
In addition to the traditional challenges, recent years have seen the emergence of new challenges.
Artificial Intelligence technologies raise novel questions about market power, transparency, data access, algorithmic biases, and the scope of competitive harm.
\u201cFree and fair digital markets are challenged by the emergence of gatekeeper platforms, asymmetries in data access and cross-border implications of digital business models. The rise of cross-border digital monopolies demands global cooperation and agile regulation,\u201d according to the minister.
India\u2019s ongoing structural reforms — asset monetisation, disinvestment, and digital public infrastructure — are all geared towards unlocking market potential and deepening competition.
\u201cIn this year\u2019s Union Budget, I had mentioned the importance of a light-touch regulatory framework based on principles and trust to unleash productivity and employment. In the same vein, regulators must be guided by the principle of \u2018minimum necessary, maximum feasible\u2019 in order to balance regulatory vigilance with a pro-growth mindset,\u201d the Finance Minister highlighted.
The government had also announced that the requirements and procedures for speedy approval of company mergers will be rationalised, and the scope for fast-track mergers will also be widened, and the process made simpler.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Ensuring free and fair markets is not merely an economic need but a democratic one and the Competition Commission of India (CCI) plays an important role against this backdrop, to keep the competition alive in the markets, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Tuesday.Addressing the 16th \u2018Annual Day Celebrations\u2019 of the market watchdog here, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":488379,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[667],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-488378","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nagalandpost.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/488378","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nagalandpost.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nagalandpost.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nagalandpost.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nagalandpost.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=488378"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nagalandpost.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/488378\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nagalandpost.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/488379"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nagalandpost.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=488378"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nagalandpost.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=488378"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nagalandpost.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=488378"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}