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PROJECT PROGRESS REPORT OF THE 7-UP PROJECT |
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5th PROGRESS REPORT OF THE 7-Up PROJECT FOR THE PERIOD: SEPTEMBER-NOVEMBER 2001 4th PROGRESS REPORT OF THE 7-Up PROJECT FOR THE PERIOD: JUNE-AUGUST 2001 3rd PROGRESS REPORT OF THE 7-Up PROJECT FOR THE PERIOD: MARCH-MAY 2001 2nd PROGRESS REPORT OF THE 7-UP PROJECT FOR THE PERIOD: DECEMBER–FEBRUARY 2001 1st PROGRESS REPORT OF THE 7-UP PROJECT FOR THE PERIOD: SEPTEMBER-NOVEMBER 2000 |
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1st PROGRESS REPORT OF THE 7-UP PROJECT FOR THE PERIOD: SEPTEMBER-NOVEMBER 2000 Consumer Unity & Trust Society (CUTS), a social action research and rights advocacy organisation, based in India and recognised internationally, is awarded with a project titled “Comparative Study of Competition Regimes of Seven Select Developing Countries of the Commonwealth” by the Department for International Development, UK. The project, popularly known as 7-Up, is to do a comparative study of competition regimes in seven developing countries of the Commonwealth. The countries which have been chosen for the study are:
I. BRIEF PROFILE OF THE PROJECT 1.1 The vision of the Project is: “Towards a Healthy Competition Culture”. 1.2 The mission of the Project is: “Shaping Competition Culture in Developing Countries”. 1.3 In order to accomplish the mission and to achieves its goals the project in brief will:
2.1 For the purpose of the project management, in each of the selected seven countries, two partners have been identified, main and associate partners. In general, the identified research institutions in each country shall be the main partner, while the chosen consumer/advocacy organisation will act as the associate partner. The primary responsibility of the project management in each country will lie with the main partner, i.e. the research institution, to ensure the quality of output. 2.2 A lot of care has been taken while choosing the partners in the seven countries. The past experience of CUTS in dealing with research institutions and NGOs, the repute of the organisation, its balance sheet, credentials and other details were keenly checked out, before finally identifying the partners. 2.3 Mr. Pradeep S. Mehta, Secretary General of CUTS, undertook a trip to three countries in Africa, viz. Kenya, Zambia, and Tanzania, primarily to get first-hand information on research and consumer/advocacy organisations, which was followed by a visit to South Africa by Mr. Ujjwal Kumar, the Research Co-ordinator of the Project. Mr. Pradeep S. Mehta also visited Sri Lanka to have a preliminary meeting with the designate partners, to get a first hand feel of the situation and to assess their competence to undertake a project of this magnitude. In case of Pakistan, project partners were selected on the basis of past experience of working with them. The same is true for India as well. 2.4 On the basis of the first hand reports, information collected from other sources, such as friends of the organisations, experts from various fields, a list of likely partners was prepared. Further, on the basis of their strengths and other details, a list of research organisations and consumer/advocacy organisations, which could be associated with the project, was shortlisted and finalised. 2.5 With the exception of South Africa and Kenya, contracts have been signed with project partners, main as well as associate, in all the project countries. 2.6 Details of project
partners are enclosed hereunder.
III. PROJECT ADVISORY COMMITTEE 3.1 An international advisory body named as Project Advisory Committee (PAC) has been formed to guide the project implementation. The PAC constitutes experts (economists, lawyers and practitioners) in the competition field. 3.2 In the selection of the PAC members, the developed-developing country dimension as well as gender balance has been kept in mind. 3.3 Some of the members have been associated with our trade and economics programme for quite some time and hence their expertise and their reputation in the field of competition issues has been the main reason for their being requested to join the PAC. 3.4 Details of the members of
the PAC is given below:
3.5 A small committee called
the Advisory Consultants Team (ACT) has also been formed, drawing some
members from the Project Advisory Committee. The members of the ACT are: 3.5.1 Mr. Peter Holmes, in capacity of Project Overseer, and Mr. Rakesh Basant, Core Researcher of the Project would also be part of the ACT. 3.5.2 The ACT members will actively guide the project team with:
4.1 Core Researcher 4.1.1 The Core Researcher of the Project, as indicated in the Project Concept Note, was Dr. S. Chakravarthy. However, in view of his engagement with the Government of India, he was unable to devote the required time. Hence, it was decided to appoint a good core researcher who could deliver quality output and adhere to time schedules. Given this requirement, it was decided to appoint Dr. Rakesh Basant, Associate Professor of Economics at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad as the Core Researcher of the Project. Prof. Basant has been working on issues related to competition law and policy, domestically as well as internationally. A letter of offer has been made and accepted by him. 4.1.2 The responsibilities of Dr. Basant are:
4.2 Support Staff 4.2.1 Under the category of support staff, Mr. Navneet Sharma, Coordinator at CUTS, assisting the project team on research, newsletters, website development and database, has been replaced by Ms. Anjali Bansal, since he left in search of greener pastures. 4.2.2 Ms. Bansal is a Lawyer by training and a qualified Company Secretary. She has taken up the responsibilities entrusted to Mr. Sharma. 5.1 Operational Strategy Note 5.1.1 The operational Strategy Note (OSN) has been prepared to give a macro picture of the process and methodology involved over the period of two years of the project duration. The OSN is a ready reckoner for the members of the PAC, ACT, Project partners and country researchers on issues related to the project agenda. It is a blue print of action, process, methodology, timeframe, deliverables and expected outputs. 5.1.2 The major issues covered in the OSN are the following:
5.2 Preliminary Country Paper 5.2.1 The annotated agenda for the preliminary country paper was sent to all the country researchers in the first week of September 2000. On the basis of the annotated agenda, the preliminary country paper from all the project countries was received and then reviewed by the project team. 5.2.2 On the basis of the review, some of the researchers were asked to revise their paper, which was done, and submitted to the organisation in the first week of December 2000. 5.2.3 The preliminary country papers were then compiled and collated by the Core Researcher of the Project and by the CUTS team as well, and it was ready for distribution at the time of the Launch Meeting of the Project (in December 2000). The final compilation of preliminary country papers will be done after incorporating the suggestions of experts and revisions, if necessary. 5.3 Preparations for the Second Quarter 5.3.1 The second quarter is of the period December 2000 to February 2001. The first activity during the second quarter will be the Launch Meeting of the Project. The meeting will be held at Jaipur, India during 20-21 December 2000. 5.3.2 Preparations are going on at full steam for the Launch Meeting. We have received confirmation from most of the PAC and ACT members and the country researchers for attending the event. 5.3.3 The major objective of the Launch Meeting would be to discuss thoroughly the methodology of research to be followed during the first phase of the project.
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CUTS Centre For International Trade, Economics & Environment (CITEE)D–217, Bhaskar Marg, Bani Park, Jaipur 302 016, India, Ph:
+91(0)141-228 2821-3 Fx: +91(0)141-228 2485 Email: cuts@cuts.org |
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