Towards a functional competition policy for India : an overview

Towards a Functional Competition Policy for India comes at a time when the country is poised to implement a new Competition Law, whilst there is a lack of understanding of the nature, and extent of prevalence, of different types of anti-competitive practices. The study helps in getting a better understanding of the competition and economic regulation scenario in India.

Contrary to popular perception, the study does not treat Competition Policy as just adoption and implementation of a competition law, but looks at it as a broader policy framework where competition is encouraged as a market process to generate competitive outcomes. Accordingly, the report comprises 22 chapters, giving comprehensive treatment to competition policy in India, covering both systemic as well as sectoral issues.

The study tracks the evolution of Competition Policy and Law in India; discusses the interface of Competition Policy with Govemment Policies (at the Federal as well as State level), and Consumer Welfare, and identifies competition and economic regulation issues in agriculture, manufacturing, and services.

Towards a Functional Competition Policy for India is the result of the effort put in by top experts in the country. The study will be useful to all those who are interested in economic policies, in general, and competition policy, in particular,

The report itself is being published as two separate volumes. This one is an Overview, which carries all papers in a précis form, so that a busy reader can go through them easily and get a flavour of what the issues are. The second is a more detailed report, carrying all chapters in greater depth, and is meant for the policy community, particularly those involved in research. Both the reports will serve as curtain raisers and as a road map for future, more in-depth work.