Competition Policy by March: Govt

The government today said it would be ready with the Competition Policy by March, 2012 and hopes the new regime would bring down prices of various products.

"The Competition Policy would be the second big financial reforms in the country after 1991 and prices will come down without affecting productivity of companies," Corporate Affairs Minister Veerappa Moily told reporters on the sidelines of a Ficci seminar here.

He added that after the Competition Policy was introduced in the United States, prices of petroleum products had come down by 50 per cent. "The policy paper has been already circulated among the ministries and is likely to be approved by the Cabinet by March, 2012," he said.

The Corporate Affairs Ministry has also proposed amendments to the Competition Act in light of the Competition Policy, he added. Moily said the Companies Bill is likely to be passed during the Budget session of Parliament. The government is also in the process of adopting the International Financial and Reporting System (IFRS).

He said the government would also bring in class action suits to protect small and minor shareholders. The Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) would also be brought under the Companies Act and would not be an executive order, he said. Speaking on corporate social responsibility, Moily said only its disclosure has been made mandatory for companies but not the CSR.