Competition Commission of India: CCI Full Form, Functions, Composition of CCI UPSC

Competition Commission of India

CCI or Competition Commission of India is one of the most important statutory bodies in India, formed by the Vajpayee Government in 2003. However, the CCI became completely functional by March 2009 and is responsible for regulating the CCI Act of 2002.

Competition Commission of India Notes

The Indian government created the Competition Commission of India to establish a highly competitive environment in the economy by enforcing the Competition Act, 2002. This was made possible by having proactive involvement and engagement among the stakeholders, international jurisdictions, and the Indian government.

Competition Commission of India: Overview

Below is the basic overview of the Competition Commission of India relevant for the upcoming exam:

Competition Commission of India Highlights	Details
CCI Full form	Competition Commission of India
Competition Commission of India establishment	March 2009
Composition of CCI	one chairperson and six members, appointed by the central government
Competition Act, 2002	Enacted by the Indian Parliament.
13th Annual Day Commemoration of CCI	Finance Minister launched CCI website (upgraded one)

What is Competition Act, 2002?

The Competition Act, 2002, enacted by the Indian Parliament, follows the modern Competition laws philosophy. Later, this act was amended by the Competition (Amendment) act 2007. Here are the important key points of the Competition Act, 2002:

• Initially, the Competition Commission of India was responsible for enforcing The Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Act, 1969, or the MRTP Act. Later, on the recommendations of the Raghavan Committee, the Competition Act, 2002, was repealed and replaced by the MRTP Act.
• The Competition Act, 2017 bars the abuse of the dominant position by enterprises, along with anti-competitive agreements. This act is also responsible for regulating the combinations that can positively impact the Competition within the country.
• Along with the Competition Commission of India, the Competition Appellate Tribunal was established following the Amend Act provision. Moreover, the Competition Appellate Tribunal- COMPAT was replaced with the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal Dulal NCLAT, 2017 by the government of India.

These Acts are responsible for upholding free enterprise, which is why the Competition law is also known as the Magna Carta of free enterprise. With the increase in globalization, domestic industries have a high chance of getting suppressed, so this law also ensures domestic industrial promotion. As the dominant enterprises can use their power to get involved in anti-competitive activities within the market, it ensures security against such kinds of market distortions and makes it safe.

Composition of Competition Commission of India

The Competition Commission of India members are selected under certain eligibility criteria. There can be a chairperson and up to six members can be a member of the Commission. The Central Government of India appoints these members.

At present, the CCI is functioning with two members and a chairperson. Here are the key details of the member Composition of the Competition Commission of India:

• Initially, it was finalized that a maximum of six members and a minimum of two members were required to Run the Commission.
• But, the number was reduced to 1 chairperson and three members only. The change in the number of members was to come up with running the Commission. But, the number was reduced to 1 chairperson and three members only. The change in the number of members was to come up with faster hearings and quicker approval.
• All the members of the Commission and the chairperson are appointed as full-time members.

CCI Member’s Eligibility Criteria

The members of the Competition Commission of India must fulfill the eligibility criteria. The eligibility criteria for the chairperson and the members include:

• The chairperson and the other members shall be an individual of integrity and ability.
• They must be qualified as a High Court judge or possess special knowledge of the same.
• They must have a professional experience in economics, international trade, commerce, business, law, accountancy, finance, management, public affairs, industry, and administration for 15 years or more than that.

Objectives of the Competition Commission of India

The Competition Commission of India holds the vision of upholding free enterprise, ensuring domestic industrial promotion, and securing the market from anti-competitive activities. Here are the major objectives of the CCI:

• To ensure freedom of trade.
• To prevent the market from anti-Competition practices.
• To protect and add to the interests of customers.
• To sustain the healthy Competition in markets.

Powers and Functions of CCI

The powers of the Competition Commission are subjected to the welfare of the economic market. The function and the role played by the Competition Commission of India are:

• Accelerates Consumer Welfare: CCI ensures that the Indian market is sustainably maintaining the welfare of its customers.
• Undertake Competition Advocacy: Competition advocacy comes under the Competition Commission of India.
• Effective working of Competition Advocacy: The CCI spreads the information among the stakeholders to get the best possible benefits of the Competition.
• Giving Opinions on Competition issues: Being the statutory authority, the Competition Commission of India is set to provide opinions on any such Competition issues.
• Implies Competition policies: Since the Competition Commission of India aims to put into force the productive utilization of economic resources, the Commission works to implement competitive policies.
• Blocking the Anti-competitive Activities: CCI can go against all Anti-competitive activities. It is responsible for ensuring freedom of trade in the Indian market.
• Antitrust ombudsman for small organizations: With the increase in globalization, domestic industries / small organizations are at a significant chance of getting suppressed by the already established dominant enterprises, so the Competition Commission of India also ensures domestic industrial promotion.

Achievements of the Competition Commission of India

The CCI is working fairly for the welfare of consumers in the Indian market and has marked certain achievements by far in 18 years. The Competition Commission of India’s achievements can be summarized as follows:

• By 2022, more than 1200 antitrust cases have been adjudicated by the Commission.
• More than 900 mergers and acquisitions have been reported by the Commission and most of them are cleared. (Record Av. 30 days)
• It came up with ‘Green Channel’ and other similar innovations for an automated transaction/combination approval process (50 such transactions are already cleared).

Challenges Faced by CCI

Though the Competition Commission of India has performed exceptionally well in the Indian market, the CCI faced internal and external challenges while trying to implement these laws. These challenges are-

• Antitrust issues: The ever-increasing Antitrust issues hinder the Commission.
• Challenges of Digitization: The increase in the modern business model that deals with the e-commerce and digital economy. Because of the digital economy, it is important to have network effects, data accessibility, etc.
• Cartelization Threat: The pandemic has resulted in a shortage of commodities on a global level. This has affected the supply chain very drastically. An increase in the benches caused the increase in demand to make a judgment more speedily.
• New Requirements: The Market definitions, as per the CCI, has no boundaries in the digital space, so there is a need to come up with a new definition of what a market is.

Future of Competition Commission of India

Since many enterprises have opted for the digital market by introducing new technologies like AI, loT, Web 3.0, Blockchains, etc., it has become necessary to have complete knowledge of these latest technologies. This will help the Competition Commission of India to hold complete transparency for the effectiveness of consumers’ benefit.

For the local market to survive and flourish, it becomes crucial for the government to resort to competition law to ensure that competitive market rules and practices are followed even in the digital and data domains.

Competition Commission of India UPSC

For the benefit of consumers, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) is a significant statutory organization. As an antitrust watchdog, CCI makes sure no corporation in the market is abusing its dominant position.

The Competition Commission of India topic is majorly studied under the economics syllabus, along with recent inputs from current affairs. By referring to the Economy Notes for UPSC, candidates can prepare the Competition Commission of India topic holistically.

MCQs on Competition Commission of India

The Competition Commission of India is a topic that is mostly asked in the prelims examination. Refer to the sample questions given below to understand the question format.

Question: When did the Competition Act, 2002 came into force?

a] 01 April 2004, b] 31 March 2003, c] 01 May 2002, and d] 23 April 2003

Answer: 31 March 2003

Question: Which section of the Competition Act, 2002 deals with Compensation in case of contravention of orders of the Commission?

a] Section 42A of the Competition Act, 2002, b] Section 44 of the Competition Act, 2002, c] Section 43 of the Competition Act, 2002, and d] Section 41 of the Competition Act, 2002

Answer: Section 42A of the Competition Act, 2002

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