A Round Table on Corporate Regulation Stresses the need for Such Regulation to be Growth-Oriented, Transparent and Inclusive

Press Information Bureau

Government of India

Ministry of Corporate Affairs

14-December-2012 18:50 IST

Deliberating upon various contours of corporate regulation, experts at a High Level Round Table here today agreed that new age corporate regulation has to be growth oriented, transparent and inclusive. The Round Table, organised by the Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs (IICA, under the aegis of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs) and George Washington University of the U.S.A., brought together judges, lawyers, researchers, industry professionals and policy makers from the USA and India to discuss contemporary issues in corporate regulation.

Discussing the attributes of enlightened regulation, Competition Commission of India (CCI) Chairperson Ashok Chawla underscored that competition law and sectoral regulation are not mutually exclusive phenomena; rather both have to complement each other to achieve enlightened regulation. He emphasised the need of greater consultations between regulators to delineate boundaries and address overlaps.

Busting a popular myth surrounding principle-based regulation versus rule-based regulation, SEBI Chairperson U. K. Sinha clarified that it is most often a combination of both which delivers the most efficient public policy outcomes. Rules, duly informed by the sound principles, are framed and enforced by regulators while exercising their mandate to regulate a sector.

Touching upon the role of human capital in building effective regulatory regimes, Paul Schiff Berman, Dean of George Washington Law Faculty, emphasized the greater need of fostering partnerships between Indian and US institutions of higher learning.

Former chairperson of CCI and currently Principal Advisor at IICA, Dhanendra Kumar discussed the complex perspective in which corporate regulation has to be understood and assessed. Speaking at the event, he highlighted the role of think-tanks and capacity building institutions in ensuring efficacy of regulatory regimes. He also discussed the key lessons learnt from India’s evolving competition regime.

Industry perspective on the regulation was also discussed by the representatives of the Industry who touched upon the evolving role of the regulators and their accountability and independence. They also highlighted the contribution of regulation in boosting innovation and cited several examples banking sector.

The day-long roundtable was divided into four technical sessions covering competition law; intellectual property laws; banking laws and FDI – all intensely debated themes in Indian context.

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