• A ‘National Conference on Public Procurement & Competition Law’ is being organised by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) in Delhi on 5th November, 2018 with a view to scale up Competition Advocacy and reach out to important stakeholders in public procurement ecosystem. Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs Shri Arun Jaitley will be the keynote speaker and the chief guest for the National Conference.
• The National Conference is being organised in association with Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs (IICA), a think tank under the aegis of Ministry of Corporate Affairs.
• Ahead of the National Conference, CCI Chairperson Shri Sudhir Mital said that the National Conference is a unique initiative of the Commission which provides a platform to various stakeholders to engage in an active discussion with the policymakers and the industry on various aspects of competition law and public procurement.
• He further added that infusing competition and checking anti-competitive conduct in public procurement is a priority for the CCI.
• The National Conference will be attended by senior policy makers from Central Government, various State Governments, participants from the public sector enterprises, industry, legal and finance professionals, corporate lawyers, academics, and other relevant stakeholders.
• The day-long event is to focus on public procurement, bid rigging, cartels and leniency. This event is the 2nd in the series of many Conferences and Roadshows which are being organised by the competition regulator at different locations.
• The first road show was organised in Mumbai on 15th October, 2018 with a focus on cartels, leniency and merger control.

About CCI

• Competition is the best means of ensuring that the ‘Common Man’ or ‘Aam Aadmi’ has access to the broadest range of goods and services at the most competitive prices. With increased competition, producers will have maximum incentive to innovate and specialize.
• This would result in reduced costs and wider choice to consumers. A fair competition in market is essential to achieve this objective. Our goal is to create and sustain fair competition in the economy that will provide a ‘level playing field’ to the producers and make the markets work for the welfare of the consumers.

The Competition Act:

• The Competition Act, 2002, as amended by the Competition (Amendment) Act, 2007, follows the philosophy of modern competition laws. The Act prohibits anti-competitive agreements, abuse of dominant position by enterprises and regulates combinations (acquisition, acquiring of control and M&A), which causes or likely to cause an appreciable adverse effect on competition within India.

Competition Commission of India

• The objectives of the Act are sought to be achieved through the Competition Commission of India (CCI), which has been established by the Central Government with effect from 14th October 2003. CCI consists of a Chairperson and 6 Members appointed by the Central Government.
• It is the duty of the Commission to eliminate practices having adverse effect on competition, promote and sustain competition, protect the interests of consumers and ensure freedom of trade in the markets of India.
• The Commission is also required to give opinion on competition issues on a reference received from a statutory authority established under any law and to undertake competition advocacy, create public awareness and impart training on competition issues.