CCI means business

What is the role of the Competition Commission of India (CCI), a successor of sorts to the once sprawling Licence Raj-era Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Commission? While delivering the commission's annual day lecture on Monday, Finance Minister P Chidambaram warned the competition watchdog against becoming "another bureaucracy, stifling growth" and it to continue to be a "lean" organisation. Later, asked to respond to Chidambaram's comments, Chairman Ashok Chawla quipped: "He advised us to be lean but not mean."