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Against abuse of pharma FDI
Financial
Express, October 31, 2011
By Pradeep S Mehta
The debate
on pharma takeovers has been hitting headlines, with the
Prime Minister too getting involved in it. The worry is
whether the takeovers will lead to an increase in prices and
affect the affordability of medicines for the aam aadmi. The
high level committee headed by Arun Maira has rightly
prescribed that CCI is the body to keep a watch on
brownfield investments in the pharma sector, in order to
avoid any dominance and other anticompetitive behaviour, but
that the FDI policy should maintain status quo.
More...
Implementation of
policies more important than drafting laws
Economic
Times, October 31, 2011
By Pradeep S Mehta
The debate
on corruption triggered by the Anna Hazare movement, the
apex court and the country's auditor and vacuous political
noises, along with silent demonstrations by citizens, has
set in motion a process of addressing the morass in our
country. The debate and unravelling of scams itself has
downsides of policy paralysis, investor scepticism and
general insouciance, which we can ill-afford. Therefore,
catharsis must begin from confession.
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Enough room for CCI in regulated sectors
Financial
Express, October 29, 2011
By Pradeep S Mehta
An interim
stay by the Delhi High Court, to the effect that the
Competition Commission of India (CCI) does not have
jurisdiction in cases relating to petroleum and gas, because
of the existence of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory
Board (PNGRB), not only stirred a hornet’s nest but also
ignited a debate on the interface of CCI and sector
regulators in India. The stay is out of sync as it totally
ignored the inadequacy of the provisions of the PNGRB Act,
2006, in dealing with the alleged cartel conduct against
public sector oil companies in the supply of aviation
turbine fuel. The complaint was brought forward by Air
India, another PSU.
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A win-win trade for India & Pakistan
Financial
Express, October 18, 2011
By Pradeep S Mehta
Both
Pakistan and India are members of the World Trade
Organisation and also of the South Asia Free Trade
Agreement. The WTO agreement requires each member state to
grant Most Favoured Nation status to all other members to
facilitate smooth trade flows. SAFTA takes up closer
economic cooperation among all member states of SAARC. Alas,
in the case of Pakistan and India there are several
bottlenecks in achieving a harmonious trade relationship in
spite of both the agreements. Why should the status remain
status quo, when both will gain hugely.
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Trade associations as cartels
Financial
Express, October 13, 2011
By Pradeep S Mehta
CCI can
demand access to the minutes of meetings that the
associations have been holding, with a view to assessing
whether price issues were also discussed by their members.
One would not be surprised to see prices being among the
issues discussed and minuted by these associations,
especially in those cases where the meetings are often
followed by increased prices or market allocation. Some
associations would be discussing pricing issues due to
ignorance, as found in the Pakistan Jute Mills Association
case referred to earlier. However, ignorance of the law is
no defence, and the sooner the practice is nipped the
better.
More...
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