More competition can at times put a sector under stress: Jaitley

Excessive competition at times can result in stress in a sector, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said, pointing out that these are challenges of the growing economy.

He also said that with the growing economy, the role of each regulator would expand.

“Excessive competition at times can result in pricing of nature that the sector of the economy itself feels stressed because everybody then tends to follow the leader,” he said at an event organised by antitrust regulator Competition Commission of India.

“Therefore, what do you do in a such situation of this kind. These are all challenges which are going to emerge as economy moves further and expands further,” he said.

If the current growth rate continues for a decade or two, he said, Indian economy expansion is going to be exponential. “The size is going to increase, the size of industry is going to increase, the size of services sector will increase and the role of each regulator while exercising self restraint will also expand,” he said.

Explaining the object of the competition law, the finance minister said that protection of consumer interest was a key pillar of this.

“The government wanted effective market players, reasonably optimum in number so that the consumer interest is protected. That was the object of the competition law when the state withdraws and leave the economy to markets. What happens that aberration develops in the market. So for that purpose, a regulator with a keen eye on the markets was created and that was the Competition Commission of India,” he said.