A watchdog's watchlist: Meet Ravneet Kaur, the 1st woman ever to head CCI

Only the second woman to head a regulatory body in India, Kaur tells about her deep interest in economics, the challenges of AI, and why she might be seen as a tough taskmaster

It’s not easy to meet a regulator in an informal setting. So, this lunch with the chairperson of the Competition Commission of India (CCI) takes weeks to materialise. Ravneet Kaur, a 1988-batch Punjab cadre Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer, has her days packed with antitrust cases — against Big Tech, quick commerce, and legacy businesses alike — awaiting final rulings.

 

CCI, mandated to promote and sustain competition in markets, recently turned 16. It is India’s relatively young counterpart to the US Federal Trade Commission, which is more than a century old.

 

To meet the chairperson of this vital regulator, we