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Balancing innovation and competition critical to ensure economic growth: Ms Ravneet Kaur, Chairperson, CCI

Dec 08, 2023

CCI would continue to contribute positively to the development process: Ms Ravneet Kaur, Chairperson, CCI

 

Following a public consultation process in regulation making is critical for a robust regulatory framework: Dr Deepak Mohanty, Chairperson, PFRDA

 

New Delhi, 8 December 2023: Addressing FICCI’s 96th Annual General Meeting and Annual Convention during the Session on Role of Regulators in Economic Development, Ms Ravneet Kaur, Chairperson, Competition Commission of India underscored that CCI plays a key role in facilitating business processes through its mandate of promoting competition, protecting consumer interests, and fostering innovation.

Highlighting the key facets of the facilitative approach that CCI follows, Ms Kaur said, “One of the foremost aspects is to ensure fair competition in the marketplace so that firms invest in cutting edge technologies, research and development without indulging in anti-competitive practices. The other important driver is consumer welfare.”

Emphasising on the trust-based regulation system that CCI practices, Ms Kaur stated, “Our focus is to have a business-friendly environment and one of the key initiatives undertaken by the CCI in this regard has been the Green Channel Route for automatic approval of certain combinations”. She further added that advocacy outreach and a robust consultative process are accorded significant importance by CCI.

Referring to the impact of Artificial Intelligence in competition landscape, Ms Kaur mentioned that CCI is embarking on a market study on AI to look at the possibility of anti-competitive practices and if so, how they can be addressed. Highlighting the robust start up ecosystem in India, Chairperson CCI stated that CCI endeavours to balance innovation and competition in the digital economy space in a manner that startups continue to grow.

Dr Deepak Mohanty, Chairperson, Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority underlined that regulations develop as society evolves and serve key objectives of fostering efficiency, allowing fairness, order as well as price discovery, yielding economic benefits for the nation. Supporting the need for a robust consultation process in regulation making, Dr Mohanty added, “A consultative process offers stakeholders the opportunity to highlight important issues and offer solutions to address them, improving compliances over time”.

Continuing the theme of public consultation, Dr Mohanty said, “Financial sector regulators are in the process of undertaking intensive review of regulations through a public consultation process. This is being done with the objective of minimising compliance burden for industry and improving ease of doing business in India”. The need for this comprehensive review was laid down by Hon’ble Finance Minister Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman during the Union Budget speech earlier this year.

Mr Pankaj Patel, Past President, FICCI and Chairman, Zydus Lifesciences Ltd said, “Regulators play the role of facilitators in furthering economic growth and development of the nation.” Advocating the need for a co-operative approach, he said that regulators and industry should work together in a collaborative manner. “Mutual trust and confidence are critical to foster an environment that allows investments and innovation, contributing to economic growth. Moving towards a regime of self-regulation will address the issue of regulatory burden”, he added. He quoted the example of Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2023 in this regard.

Articulating the key principles for the success of a regulatory framework, Mr Sandip Somany, Past President, FICCI and CMD, Somany Impresa Group said, “Trust and confidence of stakeholders is paramount. Regulators must ensure timely and transparent intervention so that stakeholders are able to take informed decisions. Information asymmetry needs to be minimized, both in substance and in form and regulatory overlaps must be addressed on priority.” He further added, “Many regulations often remain on the statute books without ever being evaluated. Though the Government has undertaken steps to address this, many archaic laws continue to exist. It is necessary to abolish these laws and make new laws according to the present time in this ‘Amrit Kaal’ of Independence.” Mr Somany highlighted that more than 32,000 compliances have been done away with to remove legal hurdles in the way of innovation and ease of living. Conducting Regulatory Impact Assessment prior to issuance of any regulation and reducing cost of regulation is also critical, he added.

Mr Shailesh K Pathak, Secretary General, FICCI emphasized how regulations can positively impact growth by creating a favourable business environment which provides business with the confidence to invest and grow. He also moderated the discussions during the session.

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