The Competition Commission of India (CCI) is carrying out studies on sectors like telecommunications, automobiles & auto parts, paints, tyres, steel and the food grains markets in eastern India to keep a close tab on competition-related issues and behaviour of companies in the sectors.
Studies are also in the offing on the competition policy in the air transport sector, intellectual property law and anti dumping practices. The advisory committee of the competition commission has recommended the studies.
The competition regulator is also reviewing India?s bilateral trade treaties and cartel case laws as part of the studies. It has till now sponsored 8 such studies and six more studies are in the pipeline. The CCI had earlier sponsored studies on industries including cement, pesticides and the manufacturing sector.
The main aim of the studies is to understand the structure of various sectors of the market and the prevailing business practices, which would in turn help the competition panel in undertaking competition advocacy and generate public awareness on such issues. It would also help identify policies and practices that have an adverse effect on competition.
With the CCI all set to be fully operational soon, such studies will also help the commission to keep a tab on industries and sectors where there are instances of anti-competitive behaviour and also assist it in solving disputes.
A case in point is the CCI?s earlier study on ?Assessing State of Competition in Pesticides and Cement Industries,? carried out by Jawaharlal Nehru University which had found that the cement industry in India operates like a cartel as far as price fixation is concerned, something the Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Commission (MRTPC) too stated recently in its judgement.