Genesis of Competition Law in India

Abstract

After the advent of Independence in 1947, India, for the better part of half a century thereafter, adopted and followed policies comprising what are known as “Command-and-Control” laws, rules, regulations and executive orders.

The Competition law of India, namely, the Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Act, 1969 (MRTP Act) was one such. It was in 1991 that widespread economic reforms were undertaken and consequently the march from “Command-and-Control” economy to an economy based more on free market principles commenced its stride. As is true of many countries, economic liberalisation has taken root in India and the need for an effective competition regime has also been recognized.

In the context of the new economic policy paradigm, India has enacted a new competition law called the Competition Act, 2002 (Act, for brief). The MRTP Act has converted into the new law, Competition Act, 2002. The new law has repealed the extant MRTP Act. This paper, therefore, addresses both the enactments and also outlines the logic behind the development.