The time has come for all the stakeholders in the growth of Indian economy to come forward and launch a national movement to build a culture of competition so as to promote innovation, entrepreneurship and inclusive growth and to be part in ushering second generation of reforms. This was stated by the Minister for Corporate Affairs, Dr M Veerappa Moily at the Conference on Building “Friends of Competition” in India, organised by CUTS Institute for Regulation and Competition (CIRC) and Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs (IICA), Ministry of Corporate Affairs, in New Delhi yesterday. Shri Moily said “the stage is set for competition policy reforms.” He added that “as per a recent study, Indian GDP in 2050 will be $85 trillion, ahead of China and the US and in order to achieve this, the second-generation economic reforms at centre, state and sub-state levels are now required. We now need a culture of high productivity, efficiency, innovation or competition. Competition policy and law are instruments which positively affect the bottom of pyramid and therefore will be defining moment within the policy reform agenda. The major objectives of the competition reform measures are to promote sustained high level of economic growth, control inflation, enhance productivity and attain international competitiveness, and generate employment opportunities.” 

The conference was attended by a large number of national and international dignitaries and participants from government, bureaucracy, competition authorities, legal professionals, economists, academicians, research think tanks, media and persons from the civil society. 

The conference provided a timely and well needed platform for various stakeholders to come and share their views in light of the process of framing of National Competition Policy and amendments to the Competition Act are under way. During various sessions, eminent subject-experts from India and other countries who spoke included: Allan Fels, Dean, Australia and New Zealand School of Government and a former competition regulator from Australia, Dhanendra Kumar, Chairman of the National Competition Policy Committee, Justice SN Dhingra, Member of the CCI, Peter Varghese, Australian High Commissioner, Yashwant Bhave, Chairman of AERA, AK Chauhan, Director General of CCI, Mahendra Swarup, President of Indian Venture Capital Association, Sandeep Varma, Director, Ministry of Defence, etc. 

The conference is a first step in building networks of to facilitate exchange of ideas, views and experience amongst government, competition authority, civil society organisations and academicians.