Aspirant Academy

Economy

Competition Policy and Regulatory Framework

Industry: Policy, Reforms, Globalization, Liberalization, Privatization, MSMEs

Paper I · Unit 2 Section 7 of 11 0 PYQs 26 min
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Competition Policy and Regulatory Framework

Competition Commission of India (CCI)

The CCI was established under the Competition Act 2002 (became operational 2009) as a replacement for the MRTP Commission. Its mandate is to promote fair competition and prevent anti-competitive behaviour.

Powers of CCI:

  • Investigate anti-competitive agreements (cartels, bid-rigging)
  • Investigate abuse of dominant market position
  • Regulate mergers/acquisitions that may reduce competition

Notable cases:

  • Rs 1,337 crore penalty on Google (2022) for Android OS dominance
  • Rs 200 crore penalty on MakeMyTrip (2021)

Competition Amendment Act 2023: Introduced "settlement and commitment" mechanism; added deal-value threshold for merger notification (Rs 2,000 crore).

Consumer Protection Framework

Consumer Protection Act 2019 replaced the 1986 Act with stronger provisions:

  • Established Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA)
  • Enabled class action complaints
  • Addressed e-commerce and direct selling frauds