‘Indian corporates are not fully prepared to handle these kind of new regulations’

In this Walk the Talk on NDTV 24x7 with The Indian Express Editor-in-Chief Shekhar Gupta, Ashok Chawla, chairman of the Competition Commission of India, speaks about imposing fines on corporates and the role of the competition regulator

My guest today can be the dread of many corporates but he can also be the envy of many. Ashok Chawla, chairman of Competition Commission of India. You know why I said 'envy of many'? It's because you hit the $1.5 billion turnover mark faster than any corporate in Indian history. A Rs 6,500-crore fine on the cement cartel, DLF, NSE, aluminium phosphide makers and all of that in just about a year—this is big hitting.

The Competition Commission is a young body, it's three years old. We have got more active in the recent past. A lot of things which were started earlier are now coming to fruition. What you are not seeing is that many of the cases get closed. We need a fair amount of evidence before we can penalise the corporates who should be behaving in a different manner from what they are behaving.

It is ironic. We are in the heart of India's centre of governance and power. These areas usually love their acronyms. So CCI until now used to be Cement Corporation of India.

Or the Cricket Club of India.

Or, in old days, Controller of Capital Issues. But now CCI is a body that represents the spirit of reform because regulation is about free markets and reform, isn't it? Regulation preventing anti-trust moves or misuse of dominant positions.

As the economy moves more and more to the market mode, the system needs a market regulator, distinct from sectoral regulators who look at specific areas like insurance regulation, security market regulation, etc.

Do you get the sense that nobody quite figured that CCI would become such a big hitter or such a virtuous monster?

... contd.

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