CCI seeing concession agreements in infra, public service delivery sector

Fair trade watchdog CCI is assessing model concession agreements in infrastructure and public service delivery segments to mitigate possible competition issues.

Competition Commission of India (CCI) Chairperson Ashok Kumar Gupta on Thursday said the regulator has engaged with Niti Aayog in the past one year for competition assessment of model concession agreements in infrastructure and public service delivery sectors such as railways, airports and national highways.

"The intention is to mitigate competition concerns in structuring, granting and implementing concession agreements which would help in pre-empting competition intervention later," he said.

He was speaking at a virtual event to commemorate the 12th annual day of the CCI.

As part of efforts to curb anti-competitive practices in market place, the watchdog has been taking various steps, including conducting market studies and advocacy initiatives.

In recent times, the CCI has completed studies on e-commerce and telecom sectors. Gupta noted that studies on common ownership by private equity investors, surge pricing by cab aggregators and pharmaceutical sector are currently underway.

He said that pragmatic application of competition law is of particular importance in moments of crisis to ensure that market failures are avoided and economic recovery is fast and sustained.

"... Commission also took a balanced approach in its enforcement decisions focusing on faster market corrections and a nuanced view in levying penalties, particularly for MSMEs, considering their financial distress," he noted.

Speaking at the event, Corporate Affairs Secretary Rajesh Verma said the CCI emphasised the importance of sustained and effective competition advocacy to ensure a pro-competitive policy environment.