‘Time right for competition policy’

IN the present liberalised regime the time is right to adopt a National Competition Policy, according to Dr Kirit Parikh, Member of the Planning Commission.

“Though India has had a long experience of a competition law, it has never had a competition policy to address the relevant issues in a systemic and comprehensive manner. It is now time to adopt a National Competition Policy,” Dr Parikh said.

He was delivering the keynote address at an international conference `Moving the Competition Policy Agenda in India,’ organised by CUTS International, a non-governmental organisation.

The conference was organised to release the project report on `Towards a Functional Competition Policy for India’ undertaken by CUTS.

Dr Parikh also emphasised the need to introduce competition wherever possible, even in services provided by the government, free of cost or at highly subsidised rates.

Taking education, for example, he suggested that subsidies need not be given to the schools directly, rather students can be given vouchers which the schools should be able to encash.

This would provide incentives to the schools to improve quality and attract more students.