Government constitutes Competition Law Review Committee to review the Competition Act

In pursuance of its objective of ensuring that Legislation is in sync with the needs of strong economic fundamentals, the Government has constituted a Competition Law Review Committee to review the Competition Act.

The Competition Act was passed in the year 2002 and the Competition Commission of India was set up in pursuance of the same. The Commission started functioning in right earnest from 2009 and has contributed immensely towards the development of competition and fair play practices in the Indian market. During the past nine years the size of the Indian Economy has grown immensely and India is today amongst the top five  Economies in the World and poised to forge ahead further. In this context, it is essential that Competition Law is strengthened, and re-calibrated to promote best practices which result in the citizens of this country achieving their aspirations and value for money.

The Review Committee comprises of the following:

  1. Secretary, Ministry of Corporate Affairs                                  – Chairperson
  2. Chairperson, Competition Commission of India (CCI)                      – Member
  3. Chairperson, Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India      – Member
  4. Shri Haigreve Khaitan, M/S Khaitan & Co.                                       – Member
  5. Shri Harsha Vardhana Singh, IKDHVAJ Advisers LLP                   – Member
  6. Ms. Pallavi Shardul Shroff, Advocate,                                               – Member

M/S Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co.

  1. Dr. S. Chakravarthy, IAS (Retd.), Hony. Visiting Prof. ASCII        – Member
  2. Shri Aditya Bhattacharjea, Professor of Economics,             – Member

Delhi School of Economics

  1. Joint Secretary (Competition), MCA                                Member Secretary

The Terms of References of the Committee are as follows:-

  1. To review the Competition Act/ Rules/ Regulations, in view of changing business environment and bring necessary changes, if required;
  2. To look into international best practices in the competition fields, especially anti-trust laws, merger guidelines and handling cross border competition issues;
  3. To study other regulatory regimes/ institutional mechanisms/ government policies which overlap with the Competition Act;
  4. Any other matters related to competition issue and considered necessary by the Committee.

The Committee shall complete its work and submit its report within three months of the date of its first meeting.