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India: First National Conference on the Economics of Competition Law, 2016

New Delhi                                                                                         March 3-4, 2016

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) organized a two-day event for the First National Conference on the Economics of Competition Law, 2016, on March 3-4, 2016, at Gulmohar, Indian Habitat Centre, Lodhi Road, New Delhi. The goal of the Conference was to provide a forum to the scholars, practitioners and experts working in the area of competition law for the exchange of ideas, views and research findings on various economic theories, tools and applications relevant to anti-trust enforcement. 

The Conference had six technical sessions and two panel discussions.

Indian Union Minister, Mr. Jayant Sinha, delivered the inaugural address at the Conference. The Indian Minister of State for Finance and the Secretary of Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Mr. Tapan Ray, were also present at the occasion. 

Mr. Jayant Sinha noted that India must grab the opportunity to become the leader in competition law enforcement amongst younger jurisdictions and stressed on the fact that the role of the market and its importance in achieving the pro-poor objectives of the Government deserves better appreciation. He also stated that it was incumbent upon the CCI to build and create a community of experts including academia, consultants, legal practitioners and professionals within the organization. He urged the CCI to adopt the best global practices to enforce competition law as CCI, in existence since 2009, is relatively much younger than most competition jurisdictions in the developed economies.  

   

CCI Chairman, Mr. Devender Kumar Sikri, observed in his introductory remarks that the implementation of competition law should be judicious in nature. Apart from this, there must be a meaningful dialogue between law and economics so that the legal principles and economic perspectives can be harmonized towards an efficient, precise and prudent decision-making.

Speaking at this event, CCI Member, Mr. Augustine Peter, said that the focus of the present day competition assessment is on the use of more economics, that is, economic evidence and quality availability of data in competition law enforcement.