Competition policy to be taken to the Cabinet in Dec: Moily

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The draft of the National Competition Policy is likely to be placed before the Union Cabinet for approval in December, Indian Corporate Affairs Minister Veerappa Moily has said.

"The draft policy is already before the government. We have written to all the Chief Ministers... Possibly I may take it to Cabinet by the end of December, 2011, and possibly latest by January, 2012, we would have the final policy," said Moily who is currently on a visit to Washington to meet top officials of the US government.

The new competition policy -- which has been billed as the herald of the next wave of economic reforms in the country -- seeks to integrate the principles of competition in various economic policies of the government and reap the benefits of the competition therein.

The basic premise of the competition policy -- the draft of which has not been made public yet -- is that the government should not restrict market activity any more than is necessary to achieve its social and other goals.

The National Competition Policy, its promoters argue, would also help promote good governance by bringing about greater transparency and accountability through competition.

The draft of the competition policy was recently submitted by the chairman on the National Competition Policy, Dhanendra Kumar.

Once this policy is adopted, Kumar told a group of Indian reporters here, all ministries would be asked to undertake a review of their existing regulations with respect to tendering and procurement to ascertain if there are any anti-competitive elements.