New Delhi, <keyword id="19927244" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="fair" source="keywords">Fair</keyword> trade regulator <keyword id="19906939" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="cci" source="keywords">CCI</keyword> will shortly initiate a market study on Artificial Intelligence (AI) to gain a thorough understanding of antitrust concerns, the regulator's chief Ravneet <keyword id="19928789" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="kaur" source="keywords">Kaur</keyword> said on Tuesday. AI applications are becoming more common across various sectors lately. "We will shortly commence a market study on artificial intelligence to develop a comprehensive understanding of the evolving landscape of AI and AI use cases in markets in India, which could inform the strategies of the commission aimed at fostering innovation and fair competition," Kaur said at the 9th conference on Economics of Competition law here. In January, she announced that the Competition Commission Of India (CCI) would soon float a tender for conducting a study on artificial intelligence on businesses and services. The chairperson further said that regulations on Settlement &amp; Commitment will soon be issued. "Very soon, you will see the other regulations on settlement commitment frameworks on determination of turnover and income and the guidelines for monetary penalty being rolled out," she said. CCI, in August 2023, issued the draft regulations for commitment and settlement provisions under the competition law. The provisions are aimed at ensuring quicker market correction. The Commission has the mandate to curb unfair business practices in the marketplace across sectors and also promote fair competition. The chairperson said that the developments in <keyword id="19899402" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="digital" source="keywords">digital</keyword> markets also pointed to the need for strengthening the CCI's institutional capacity. The digital markets and data unit has been set up by the Commission for working as a specialised inter-disciplinary centre of expertise for digital markets within the commission. According to her, the role of economic analysis and evidence and competition law enforcement across jurisdictions has seen steady growth over the years. "Antitrust and other decisions are now based on economic principles that are empirically tested. These help identify theories of harm, address such harms effectively, while allowing pro competitive practices and innovation to flourish. It is only when competition opportunities are preserved and anti-competitive impediments are removed that markets can deliver efficient outcomes to benefit the economy and the consumers," Kaur said. Meanwhile, NITI Aayog member <keyword id="20833977" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="arvind-virmani" source="keywords">Arvind Virmani</keyword> said that the digital economy could be a key driver for India's growth. Digital economy can offer high-quality social services as well as upgrade human resources. "AI expert system, digital is something which can transform India. AI allows you to scale up and get the best thing to everybody," he said.

Fair trade regulator CCI to shortly commence market study on AI

<ul><li>Instead of allowing vaccine makers to charge customers different prices for the same vaccine, the government could offer subsidy for those who need it the most via direct cash transfer.</li><li>Allowing different prices offers an incentive to move the stock of vaccines to the buyers who pay more i.e. private hospitals.</li><li>That may leave a lot of poorer Indians waiting in queues for a long time to get their share of the jabs.</li><li>Even with direct cash transfer, there may be a need to cap prices and to declare hoarding as a criminal act to ensure that the kind of leakage seen in ration shops is not replicated in vaccines as well. </li><li>There are arguments against direct benefit transfer as well. </li></ul>The new prices for COVID-19 vaccine, Covishield, has triggered a debate in India. Some argue that the prices are too high for everyone to be able to afford, and some say that it should be free for all and the government should bear the cost. The government already has a lot of expenses piling up as it manages the pandemic, and hence, there are also those who see merit in arguing that those who can pay for the vaccine, must pay for it. However, there is a problem with letting private and for-profit companies charge different prices from different customers. These are the prices fixed by Serum Institute of India (SII) for the Covishield vaccine: <table style="border-width: initial; border-style: none; table-layout: fixed; width: 468pt;"><colgroup></colgroup><col /><col /><tbody><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">If the vaccine is sold to… </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Price per dose </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Central government </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">₹150 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">State government </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">₹400 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Private hospitals </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">₹600 </td></tr></tbody></table> India is a developing country with millions of poor people with poor access to, and little money to spare for, healthcare. By allowing vaccine makers to choose the pricing based on who is buying the vaccine, the government may give the producer an incentive to direct more vaccines to the more expensive private hospitals, whereas a majority of the country still depends on state-run facilities. “Pricing should be uniform. Both the central and state governments should pay the same price for the vaccine. The government should also cap the price of the vaccine sold at private hospitals. Even the administrative charges should be capped. Otherwise a family of four may end up paying a lot for vaccination,” Doctor Sanjeev Bagai, Chairman and Managing Director of the New Delhi-based Nephron clinic told Business Insider. “Direct benefit transfer is also an option. And the cost of vaccination should be covered by all insurance companies,” Bagai added. <div type="image" title="Kolkata:Beneficiaries stands in a queue outside a health centre to receive a dos..." msid="82200586" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Beneficiaries stands in a queue outside a health centre to receive a dose of Covid-19 vaccine, amid surge in coronavirus cases, in Kolkata.Photo/Swapan Mahapatra)(&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div> The case for direct reimbursement for the cost of vaccine One may argue that there are covenants in place to ensure that the company sends an agreed amount of supply to government facilities. However, decades of similar policy experiments have taught us that such agreements are inefficient and provide a fertile ground for corrupt practices. The failure of such mechanisms gave birth to the idea of Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT). It could be deployed here as well, given that patients coming in for vaccination are already being asked to submit their Aadhaar (unique identity number) details. Vaccine makers should charge the same price from all customers. Those who access it via government agencies, or any other filter as may be applicable, should be allowed to get the subsidy reimbursed to their bank account. This has been effectively used in transferring other subsidies like the ones for cooking gas and fertilisers. The government’s own estimate is that it has saved over ₹1.78 lakh crore ($25 billion) in subsidy leakage because of DBT. The argument against direct benefit transfer There are two arguments here against direct benefit transfer. One from R Ramakumar, Professor at Tata Institute of Social Sciences, who wants vaccines to be free for all as it is in countries like US, UK and China. The other argument is from Dr Arvind Virmani, an economist and the former Chief Economic Advisor to the government of India, who wants drug prices to be decontrolled totally and do a direct cash transfer on a larger scale and not limit it to vaccines alone. “Supply chain has to be developed. It can’t be done overnight. The data on production and sale of vaccines is transparently available from the producers, for the government, Astrazeneca and others to see. To introduce DBT now, it would mean taking out funding from other budgeted activities like infrastructure construction. Right now, vaccination is working smoothly. Don’t disrupt it,” he told Business Insider. Aside from the fact this may add a bureaucratic layer, Ramakumar’s contention is that by allowing state-run facilities to charge less, and private hospitals to charge more, there is an incentive of corruption in distribution. India already has decades of bad experience. from the public distribution system a.k.a the ration shops, where the subsidised stock is moved out to be sold at a higher price. A cap on prices, and a crackdown on hoarders by making it a criminal act, may be necessary to counter this, even with reimbursement of the vaccine cost via direct transfer to bank accounts. Virmani’s take is that there is a case to be made for both deregulating drug prices, as well as direct cash transfer for a variety of reasons, in India but that can’t be debated in the middle of a pandemic. “All drugs are controlled. We should be discussing decontrol of drugs. That’s not the problem right now. For the last 12 months, I have been saying you can create a direct cash transfer in 4 months. It should still be considered,” he added. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/while-covid-19-is-making-millions-gasp-for-breath-in-india-state-administrations-are-trying-to-hoard-oxygen/articleshow/82199390.cms">While COVID-19 is making millions gasp for breath in India, state administrations are trying to hoard oxygen</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/auto/news/covid-19-lockdowns-and-curfews-affecting-worlds-fourth-largest-automobile-market/articleshow/82195326.cms">There is a virtual lockdown in the world’s fourth largest automobile market</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/revolut-appoints-former-flipkart-exec-paroma-chatterjee-as-its-india-ceo/articleshow/82181199.cms">Revolut starts India operations, appoints former Lendingkart, Flipkart executive Paroma Chatterjee as CEO</a>

If the COVID-19 vaccine prices are too high for some, then why not use direct benefit transfer

(Eds: Minor edit in header) New Delhi, Jun 26 () The advisory council to the 15th Finance Commission has discussed the impact of restrictions imposed due to the COVID-19 pandemic on tax revenue and possibilities for establishing a debt consolidation road map. In the virtual meetings with the Finance Commission on June 25-26, the Advisory Council felt that the impact of the pandemic on the economy and on the fiscal positions of the Union and state governments is still highly uncertain. "The advisory council also discussed the adverse implications of constraints in the economy on tax revenue collections of the union and state governments. While noting that tax collections can be considerably affected by the pandemic, some members of the council indicated the impact of the pandemic on tax collections may also be asymmetric," an official statement said. Data released last month showed the central government's fiscal deficit surged to 78 per cent of Budget estimates to Rs 2.79 lakh crore in April as tax revenues slumped on account of the nationwide lockdown. The Budget for 2020-21 had projected the fiscal deficit at Rs 7.96 lakh crore, or 3.5 per cent of GDP. The advisory council also discussed implications on the deficits and debt of the general government along with constraints and possibilities for establishing a path for consolidation of public debt, post the pandemic. "On the expenditure side, governments will have substantial expenditure burden on account of health, support to poor and other economic agent," the members said. The nationwide lockdown imposed to curb the spread of pandemic has severely impacted the economic activity. The meeting was chaired by 15th Finance Commission Chairman N K Singh, and attended by all members and senior officials of the Commission. From the advisory council, Chief Economic Advisor Krishnamurthy Subramanian, Sajjid Z Chinoy, Prachi Mishra, Neelkanth Mishra and Omkar Goswami and special invitee Rathin Roy attended the meeting on June 25. While Arvind Virmani, D K Srivastava, M Govinda Rao and Sudipto Mundle from the advisory council, along with Shankar Acharya and Pronab Sen, attended the meeting on June 26. "Many analysts and think-tanks have reduced their GDP growth projections for 2020-21. Due to ongoing social distancing measures in place and local level restrictions in many places, supply chains are not yet fully restored, which affects recovery process," it said. JD MKJ MKJ

FinComm's advisory council discusses possibility of debt consolidation road map post COVID-19

Simplification of GST, reforms in small savings rate and implementation of <keyword id="46572" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Direct-Tax-Code">Direct Tax Code</keyword> (DTC) were some of the suggestions given by economists during their customary pre-Budget consultation with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman here on Friday. Among other key suggestions were to attract more investments to support growth; streamlining policy matters and faster resolution of policy issues in all sectors; fiscal management and reforms in the power sector. The economists were optimistic about the India growth story and put forward ways through which the country can achieve the goal of USD 5 trillion economy.
 "We have bottomed out as far as growth reduction is concerned...what can be done to accelerate growth to 7-7.5 per cent," former chief economic adviser Arvind Virmani said after the meeting.
 Implementation of DTC is very important for all the small business, he added.
 He also pitched for simplification of GST and rationalisation of slabs.
 The main focus areas of the meeting included steps needed to achieve USD 5 trillion economy, job-oriented growth with focus on manufacturing and services, transparency of fiscal arithmetic, monetary transmission, government's fiscal prudence and fiscal stimulus, revival of NBFCs and inflation targeting, among others, the finance ministry said in a statement.
 There were also suggestions with regard to ways to enhance rural demand; improving oversight of financial markets; boosting agricultural exports and simplifying procedures to give financial savings a shot in the arm.
 Along with the finance minister, the meeting was attended by Minister of State for Finance Anurag Thakur, Finance Secretary Rajiv Kumar, Economic Affairs Secretary Atanu Chakraborty, Revenue Secretary Ajay Bhushan Pandey, and other senior officials of the ministry.
 Some of the economists who were part of the meeting included Rathin Roy, Director, NIFP; Shekhar Shah, Director General, NCAER; Surjit S Bhalla, Managing Director, Oxus Investment; Ajit Mishra, Director, Institute of Economic Growth and Sachin Chaturvedi, Director General, RIS. See also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/policy/economy/news/income-tax-slabs-for-2020-and-cuts-proposed-by-finance-minister-nirmala-sitharaman-in-next-budget/articleshow/72975148.cms">Income tax cuts and new tax slabs ⁠— here’s how Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman wants to make people shop more</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/niti-aayog-member-bats-for-2-gst-slabs-says-rates-should-not-be-revised-frequently/articleshow/72965580.cms">NITI Aayog member thinks that India should have only two GST slabs</a>

Indian economists tell Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to simplify GST and direct taxes

New Delhi, Dec 16 () Economic Advisory Council of the Fifteenth Finance Commission on Monday discussed issues related to GST stabilisation and possible ways to improve tax collection for additional resource mobilisation.
"Advisory Council was informed about submission of the 2020-21 report and now the Commission is on its next task of preparing the report for 2021-26 period," said an official release after the fifth meeting of the Fifteenth Finance Commission.
Talking to reporters, Finance Commission Chairman N K Singh said the Commission plans to make recommendations on Goods and Services Tax (GST), which will be for the GST Council to consider.
The Fifteenth Finance Commission discussed issues related to stabilisation of Goods and Services Tax (GST), relationship between GST Council and Finance Commission, and GST compensation being paid to states.
Singh also said the Commission was planning to make medium-term revenue projections in its report.
The Council discussed the possible macro assumptions for the Commission's award period relating to real growth, inflation etc were discussed in detail.
Matters like the structural shift in inflation, relationship between the GDP deflator and consumer price inflation, and possible trajectories of movement in real activity were also discussed.
"Tax revenues and expenditure patterns emerging both at the Union and the States level. Possible way to improve tax collection for additional resource mobilisation," the release said.
The meeting held detailed deliberations on tax revenues and expenditure patterns emerging both at the Union and the states level.
Possible way to improve tax collection for additional resource mobilisation was another focus area of the meeting.
As per the release, issues related to compliance and adherence to Fiscal responsibility legislations (FRLs) enacted by respective governments. The need for bringing in fiscal transparency was underlined in the discussions.
Advisory Council members were updated by the Commission regarding the additional terms of reference extending Fifteenth Finance Commission's term till October 2020.
As per the additional terms of reference, the Commission will submit two reports- one, for the year 2020-21 and second report for the five year period of 2021-22 to 2025-26.
The council members who attndeded the meeting include M Govinda Rao, Indira Rajaraman, Sudipto Mundle, Omkar Goswami, Arvind Virmani, Surjit Bhalla and Prachi Mishra. NKD
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Eco Advisory Council of Fin Comm discusses GST stabilisation, tax collection issues

New Delhi, Apr 24 () The economic advisory panel of the 15th Finance Commission has suggested that the government should look to support small enterprises and avert bankruptcies in the financial sector as part of the fiscal response to deal with the coronavirus crisis. At its two-day meeting held via video conferencing, the members of the Advisory Council felt that the shortfall in tax and other revenues will be large due to subdued economic activity and hence the fiscal response to the crisis should be much more nuanced. "It is important not just to look at the size of fiscal response but also carefully at its design... The Advisory Council also felt that the magnitude of the impact of these developments on public finances is uncertain, but will certainly be significant. "Governments will have substantial expenditure burden on account of health, support to poor and other economic agents," an official statement issued after the meeting said. The council felt that the COVID-19 pandemic and the national lockdown would slow down domestic activity and impact cash flows of financial institutions and businesses, besides loss of global demand for Indian products because of a steep global recession. "All of them were unanimous to suggest that the projections of real GDP growth made before March 2020 need to be relooked into entirely, and, revised downwards considerably. "Once the lockdown of the economy is released, the recovery can only be excepted to be gradual, depending on the ability of the workforce to get back to work soon, restoration of supplies of intermediates and cash flows and, of course, the demand for output. Therefore, the full magnitude of the economic impact of Covid will only be clear only over a course of time," the statement said. Among the suggestions made to the commission, the council members said small scale enterprises were cash-starved even prior to the onset of the pandemic. "As their activity levels and cash flows are affected, it is important that a support mechanism be devised to help them overcome this problem," it said. Also, non-banking financial companies are affected by the slowdown and in order to avoid bankruptcies and deepening of NPAs in the financial sector, measures should be appropriately designed. Measures like partial loan guarantee may help. The Reserve Bank of India will have a key role in ensuring that financial institutions are well-capitalised, the council members suggested. Also the finances of the central and state governments need to be watched carefully in the wake of increased spending to fight the pandemic. "As we move ahead, we need to think of options for financing the additional deficit. It is important to ensure that the State governments get access to adequate funds to undertake their fight against the pandemic," it added. Besides the healthcare cost, the government is also faced with the additional burden of giving booster or stimulus to sectors and industries hit by the nationwide lockdown. The lockdown that began on March 25 was last week extended till May 3. Late last month, the government had announced a Rs 1.7 lakh crore stimulus package comprising free foodgrains and cooking gas to poor and cash dole to poor women and elderly. A second package, aimed at industries, is said to be in the works and will likely be announced shortly. Several international agencies including IMF and the World Bank have cut India's growth forecast over concerns about the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has slashed India's GDP growth projection to 1.9 per cent in 2020 from 5.8 per cent estimated in January, as the global economy hits the worst recession since the Great Depression in the 1930s due to the raging coronavirus pandemic. Similarly, the World Bank has estimated India's economy to grow between 1.5 to 2.8 per cent in the 2020-21 -- the worst growth performance since the 1991 liberalisation. Fitch has projected India's GDP to grow at 0.8 per cent this fiscal, while S&amp;P pegs it at 1.8 per cent and Moody's at 2.5 per cent in 2020. These growth estimates compare to an estimated 5 per cent growth rate in 2019-20 fiscal that ended on March 31. India's economy also grew by 5 per cent in 2019 calendar year. The council also felt that it is likely that different states may come out of the severity of the impact of the pandemic in different stages. Hence, the revival of activity in different states will be at varied pace, the statement said. The meeting, chaired by 15th Finance Commission Chairman N K Singh, was attended by all members of the commission. The Economic Advisory Council members are Sajjid Chinoy, Prachi Mishra, Neelkanth Mishra, Omkar Goswami, Arvind Virmani, Indira Rajaraman, D K Srivastava, M Govinda Rao, Sudipto Mundle and Krishnamurthy Subramanian. JD ABMABM

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Fair trade regulator CCI to shortly commence market study on AI

PTI

If the COVID-19 vaccine prices are too high for some, then why not use direct benefit transfer

Sriram Iyer

FinComm's advisory council discusses possibility of debt consolidation road map post COVID-19

PTI

Indian economists tell Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to simplify GST and direct taxes

PTI

Eco Advisory Council of Fin Comm discusses GST stabilisation, tax collection issues

PTI

COVID-19: FinComm's advisory panel suggests support to small biz, NBFCs

PTI