The Hindu Business Line : Selection body for Competition Commission to be notified soon

Body corporate
Committee expected to be notified within a fortnight.
Ministry of Corporate Affairs to seek Cabinet nod to appoint staff.
CCI to ultimately replace Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Commission.

Richa Mishra
Moumita Bakshi Chatterjee

New Delhi, Jan. 9The Government is likely to shortly notify the selection committee for appointment of members for the Competition Commission of India (CCI). Official sources said the Ministry of Corporate Affairs had initiated the process and the committee is expected to be notified within a fortnight.

The selection committee will be headed by the Chief Justice of India or his nominee. The other members of the committee would include the Secretary-Corporate Affairs, Law Secretary, and two professional experts. Sources, however, declined to disclose the names of the experts.

Subsequently, the Government would initiate the process for constituting a selection committee for appointment of members of the proposed appellate tribunal.

Staff appointments

In addition, the Ministry is also in the process of approaching the Cabinet to seek its nod for allowing it to appoint staff for CCI. CCI had commissioned IIM Bangalore for undertaking an organisational study of the commission. The study had projected requirement for 240 professionals in the first year, going to 480 by the end of the fifth year.

Of the professional strength, 40 per cent would comprise economists, another 40 per cent lawyers, and balance financial analysts, financial management experts, and chartered accountants, amongst others. The Ministry has proposed recruitment of 250 professionals and executives for CCI.

Mr Vinod Dhall, Member and Acting Chairman, CCI said, “the aim was to give industry the confidence that CCI would be a professionally-run organisation.”

The Competition Act provides that CCI would be a body corporate consisting of a Chairman and also prescribes the minimum and maximum number of members and sets qualifying criteria for their appointment.

Operationalising CCI

The Government is looking at operationalising the CCI by the middle of this year. The Commission will ultimately replace the Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Commission (MRTPC).

MRTPC will continue to deal with pending cases even two years after the establishment of CCI and will be dissolved thereafter. However, it would not entertain any new cases after the CCI is constituted. Cases pending with MRTPC after two years of setting up of CCI will be transferred to the latter.

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