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The Competition Commission of India Chairman, Mr Ashok Chawla, on Friday suggested that similar to the way in which India had moved beyond the “Hindu rate of growth” in the 1990s, it should now surpass the “Hindu rate of reform” for sustained growth.
Delivering a speech at the Sardar Patel Institute of Public Administration (SPIPA) here, he said India had moved from the average Hindu rate of growth of 3.5 per cent between the 1950s and 1980s to 9 per cent for a few years before the 2008 financial crisis.
The 1991 reforms were actually thrust upon the Indian economy. "The big bang reforms of 1991 were not a consciously bold step in a new direction. They were, in a way, thrust on the policy makers,” he said.
He regretted that once the initial spurt of reforms was over, the pace became more gradual, “sometimes even painfully slow.” “That, perhaps, is in keeping with the Indian philosophy of incrementalism. Today, this issue of policy changes is the subject of intense discussion once again. Cynics are now talking in terms of the “Hindu rate of reforms!”
About the “unfinished agenda on economic policy”, Mr Chawla, who was Finance Secretary before taking over as CCI Chairman, identified seven major themes: the growth story must not bypass agriculture or land and labour markets; infrastructure must not become a binding constraint in the movement to a higher trajectory; the financial sector and tax regime must move faster to support a vibrant realty sector; GST must be implemented; skill upgradation should be identified as a national goal; the “resource raj” should be abolished on lines of the licence raj to end crony capitalism; good governance architecture should be put in place and institutional credibility improved.
Mr Chawla also hailed the role of various regulators and said more regulators for coal, mining and real estate are proposed to be set up.
He said CCI had so far received 267 matters alleging violations of Section 3 and 4 of the Competition Act, 2002, relating to anti-competitive agreements and abuse of dominance in diverse sectors. The panel has taken action on 200 of these matters.
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