Competition Law Review Committee (CLRC) Report: July 2019
To comprehensively review and recommend changes to the Competition Act, 2002, and the Rules and Regulations framed thereunder
Summary: Vidhi provided research and drafting assistance to the CLRC, constituted by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, to thoroughly review and suggest amendments to the competition law framework in India.
A decade-long enforcement experience of the relatively nascent competition regime in India, has brought certain shortcomings of the same, to the forefront. These include, inter alia, the emergence of disruptive business models and practices which are not covered adequately by the extant regulatory framework, and a need to review the regulation of combinations in light of the growing importance of mergers and acquisitions to the country’s economy.
The Ministry of Corporate Affairs accordingly constituted the Competition Law Review Committee (“Committee”) to facilitate the creation of a robust competition regime by suggesting substantive and procedural changes to the law. Vidhi was engaged to provide research and drafting assistance to the Committee.
Vidhi played a key role by making detailed presentations to streamline discussions of the CLRC, participating in discussions of working groups constituted by the Committee, providing research assistance including comparative international practices, analysing public comments received by the Committee and preparing a draft Report for the Committee.
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About the Contributors
Vedika was a Senior Resident Fellow and led Vidhi’s work in the field of Competition Law. She also led projects commissioned by various ministries in diverse areas including domestic and cross-border insolvency and company law for the Corporate Law and Financial Regulation team at Vidhi. Vedika completed her B.A. LL.B. (Hons.) from Gujarat National Law University in 2011 and an MCL from University of Cambridge in 2014.
Shehnaz is Senior Resident Fellow and Lead, ALTR. She works on emerging areas of policy and law on the intersection of finance, technology, and inclusion. At Vidhi, she has worked with several Ministries of the Government of India on matters relating to digital payments, financial regulation, commercial laws and business and human rights. Her independent research at Vidhi focuses on leveraging technological solutions to build a robust and inclusive financial system for all in India. Prior to joining Vidhi, she worked as an associate at the Financial Regulatory Practice at Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas, Mumbai where her work focused on advising leading financial institutions (both Indian and multinational), including payment systems on legal and regulatory issues in India. She has also involved in several mergers and acquisitions in the financial space. She has also worked as an associate at the Dispute Resolution team at JSA, New Delhi. She writes frequently for the Oxford Business Law Blog and media outlets such as Hindu BusinessLine,Financial Express, MoneyControl, FirstPost, etc. She graduated from RML National Law University in 2011.
Aishwarya was a Senior Resident Fellow working in the area of Corporate Law and Financial Regulation. At Vidhi, she has primarily worked on engaged/commissioned projects from various ministries, statutory authorities and regulators, where she provides legal research and drafting support at various stages of law-making. Aishwarya works on a variety of legal and regulatory matters and allied issues in public policy, chiefly related to insolvency laws, competition laws and corporate governance laws. Aishwarya graduated with a B.A. LL.B (Hons.) from Jindal Global Law School (JGLS) in 2017. During her time there she worked on two human rights reports and attended specialised courses in Advanced Corporate Law and Competition Law. She has also interned under Senior Advocate Ramji Srinivasan, in Avantha Holdings Ltd. and in leading law firms.
Manmayi is a Senior Resident Fellow working with Disability (Inclusion & Access). Manmayi is a graduate of the National University of Advanced Legal Studies, Kochi (2016). Prior to joining Vidhi, Manmayi worked at the law firm of Dhir & Dhir Associates, where she litigated and provided advisory services to various clients in matters pertaining to the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code. She has also previously worked with the Centre for Law and Policy Research, where she litigated in the areas of public health, women's rights and rights of disabled.
Debanshu is one of Vidhi’s Co-Founders. He has over a decade of experience in commercial laws and the financial sector and has advised the Government of India on several legislative projects in this space. He was instrumental in advising the Government on the design and drafting of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code and its subsequent implementation. He has developed and curated Vidhi’s work on insolvency law, corporate law, financial regulation, and competition law and conceptualized its Bankruptcy Research Program. He has served as a member of a Government-appointed committee for operationalizing the National Company Law Tribunal and deposed before two Parliamentary committees examining financial sector legislation. He has also worked as a teaching fellow at Harvard Law School. He is an alumnus of the Harvard Law School, the University of Oxford, and Hidayatullah National Law University. He attended Harvard as a Fulbright Scholar and was awarded the Irving Oberman Memorial Prize in Bankruptcy and the Dean’s scholar prize in Corporations. He was also awarded a Distinction for his graduate studies at Oxford. In 2017, he was selected for NYU School of Law’s Hauser Global Scholarship, which he waived. His academic work has been published in peer-reviewed journals and an edited book published by Cambridge University Press, New York. He has been consulted by and mentioned in global business publications, such as IFR Asia and The Economist. Earlier, Debanshu practiced as an M&A and regulatory lawyer with AZB & Partners at its Mumbai and New Delhi offices.
