Dear Friends,

I, on behalf of the Competition Commission of India, welcome the participation of competition authorities of different jurisdictions, concerned international organizations, members of bar, related public authorities and non-governmental advisers dealing with enforcement of competition and related law in the 2nd BRICS International Competition Conference, spread over a period of three days, with theme “Competition Enforcement under Economic Globalization” in September, 2011. I hope that this Conference, like first BRIC Conference at Kazan [Russia] in 2009, would endeavour to deliver the desired benefits to the participants.

First BRIC International Competition Conference, organized at Kazan [Russia] in August/September 2009, had provided a platform to all of us to share mutual experiences, discuss identical or similar problems and exchange opinion and dialogues for creating a culture of fair competition. The second BRICS Competition Conference, being organized by State Administration for Commerce & Industry, Peoples Republic of China, would further refine and focus the platform to have fruitful discussions / deliberations on various facets of competition law enforcement and policy and thus, in the long run, would pave the way for a long term co-operation for effective implementation of the competition law and policy amongst the competition authorities of respective jurisdictions. Besides, it would be a wonderful opportunity for the participants to acquaint themselves with development in legislations and its evolutionary trends in different jurisdictions.

Competition Commission of India, like in any other jurisdiction, has three main ingredients. First, it prohibits all agreements which restrict freedom of trade and cause consumer harm. Second, competition law regulates the abusive behavior of a dominant firm, who through its dominant position of dominance may restrict market and set unfair and discriminatory conditions. Third, to promote competitive markets, the commission regulates the merger control and acquisition of firms. Section 3 and 4 of the Competition Act, 2002 relating to anti-competitive agreements and abuse of dominance respectively had been notified in May 2009. Sections 5 and 6 of Competition Act, 2002, relating to regulation of combinations including mergers and acquisitions, have recently been notified on March 4, 2011 to be made effective from 1st of June, 2011.

Competition is regarded as the fourth corner-stone of the public policy framework alongwith monitory, fiscal and trade policies. Competition fosters economic democracy by providing equal opportunities at market place to all its participants. Competition in markets implies that no single firm or group of firms is able to influence the market on its own. It also allows new business to enter and existing competitors to develop new ways to compete in a market. Competition, thus, brings out innovation, efficiency, improved productivity, wider choices to the consumers thereby contributing to the overall economic growth development of a nation with higher sustainability.

We are looking forward to meet all the participants of the conference to discuss and share views on the challenges faced by the competition authorities of BRICS group as well as other jurisdictions to fulfill the objectives of effective enforcement and improvement of the competition law for sustainable economic development and ensure trickling down of its benefits to the stakeholders.

BRICS group, born just two years back in the turbulent year following global economic crises, has played a pivotal role in integrating the efforts of members on fronts of mutual co-operation, exchange of information on legislative developments, deliberations and discussions on the issues of common interest. Historically, BRICS nations have many common interests especially economic development of member nations. A close co-operation amongst the member countries will forge better economic co-operation and stakeholders will feel assured of a fair deal when dealing with competition issues in member countries. I believe that the group, by virtue of its interface with diverse competition law issues, will expand by leaps and bounds in the forthcoming years and be at the centre stage of world economy.

Sincerely Yours,

H.C. Gupta,
Officiating Chairperson,
Competition Commission of India