Conference On Competition Advocacy

School of Law, IMS Unison University organized a Conference on Competition Advocacy conducted by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) and addressed by a Resource Person, Shri Rajiv Rautela, IAS and State Resource Person, Uttarakhand (CCI) on 17^th April 2023 at Vice-Chancellor’s Conference Room No. 212, Second Floor, Block VI. It was held in physical mode for all the participants and in online mode for government officials of CCI, joining from New Delhi including Ms. Aishwarya Rao, Office Manager (CCI). The Conference was attended by Prof. (Dr) Ashish Verma, Dean, School of Law, Prof. (Dr.) Amit Adlakha, Dean, School of Management, Faculty members of Law and Economics, Ph.D. Scholars, LLM and MBA students at IMS Unison University, Dehradun. The Resource Person was felicitated with Bamboo Sampling by Brigadier (Dr.) M. Srinivasan (retired), Vice Chancellor and Prof. (Dr.) Ravikesh Srivastava, Pro Vice Chancellor.

The event commenced with the lighting of the lamp and Prof. (Dr.) Ashish Verma, Dean, School of Law, welcomed and introduced the Resource Person for the event, Shri Rajiv Rautela, IAS and State Resource Person, Uttarakhand (CCI). The Resource Person started his address considering the situations in India before the arrival of Britishers, during the partition 1947, during war of 1962, 1965 & 1971, at the time of the economic policy of 1956, the food growing revolution of 1966 and during 1991 (Liberalization, Globalization and Privatization). Further the resource person focused on concepts like value for money, Control and Command Theory, Monopoly creation, Doctrine of Colonization, Golden Quadrilateral (1999), Per Capita Income and Principle of Transparency. He also dealt with several committees formed in the creation of Monopolistic and Restrictive Trade Practices Act (MRTP) Act, 1969. He further demonstrated the significance and loophole in the MRTP of 1969 and reasons for its repeal.

Thereafter, the resource person introduced the four objectives of the Competition Act, 2002 including a) eliminating practices having appreciable adverse effect on competition; b) promote and sustain competition; c) protect the interests of consumers; and d) ensuring freedom of trade and business. He explained the significance of SVS Raghavan Committee report in 2000. Further, he showcased the role and responsibilities of the CCI while acting as a regulator, advisor and adjudicatory body for the competition matters in India. He pointed out some CCI’s remarkable cases including the Cement Cartel case, Automobiles cartel case, DLF case etc. where strict penalties were imposed. He provided five points for companies to avoid anti-competitive activities including right price, right quality, right time, right suppliers, and right source. Further, he emphasized the significance of Public Procurement and Tender Process under the Competition Act, 2002. Lastly, the resource person while concluding his address said that “we want to have an environment in a country where competition flourishes”.

During his address, the resource person encouraged the participants to interact in the discussion. He advocated the concept of competition and their significance in innovation, good quality products and services and consumer interest. The Vote of Thanks was given by Mr. Kshitij Kumar Rai, Assistant Professor, School of Law (Event Convenor) and finally the event ended with a felicitation of Memento to the Resource Person by Prof. (Dr.) Ashish Verma and Prof. (Dr.) Amit Adlakha.

The event was organized with the objective of spreading awareness among different stakeholders relating to the significance of competition and competitive industry. Under Section 49 of the Competition Act, 2002, the Central Government or State Government can appoint a person as a Resource Persons for raising public awareness among different stakeholders including companies, consumers, government bodies, suppliers, service providers, Contractors etc. Further, to make the market more competitive by opening the market to all and allowing free and fair competition among such stakeholders. Through this event, the students of law (when practicing in court or in academics) and students of management (when working with any corporate entity) will be benefitted either when acting as a law practitioner or as any corporate officer or procurement officer etc. Even the faculty members of law and economics would be able to use this understanding on the Competition Law while teaching any corporate subjects to students. For the economic growth of a country, a competitive environment is a must among companies and industries.