Question

The main aim of the Competition Act, 2002 is to protect the interests of

• A. the multinational corporation
• B. the Indian companies
• C. the consumers
• D. the market

Hint:

Remember the hierarchy: competition (means) $\rightarrow$ consumer welfare (end); the CCI polices conduct to secure benefits like lower prices, better quality, and greater choice for consumers.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is C

The stated objectives of the Competition Act, 2002 include preventing practices having an adverse effect on competition, promoting and sustaining competition, protecting the interests of consumers, and ensuring freedom of trade carried on by other market participants.
Among these, consumer welfare is the central guiding value—competition policy treats robust competition as the means, while consumer interest is the end; lower prices, better quality, wider choice, and innovation ultimately accrue to consumers when anti-competitive conduct is curbed.
The Competition Commission of India (CCI) therefore investigates and remedies cartels, bid-rigging, abuse of dominant position, and anti-competitive combinations, because such conduct harms consumers through higher prices, reduced output, inferior quality, or stifled innovation.
Option (a) “the multinational corporation” is incorrect because the Act does not privilege any ownership form or nationality; if an MNC engages in anti-competitive conduct, it is penalised, and if it competes fairly, it is allowed—so protection is not targeted at MNCs.
Option (b) “the Indian companies” is also incorrect because the Act is not an industrial policy instrument designed to shield domestic firms; it is a competition statute that disciplines firms—domestic or foreign—based on conduct, with consumer interest as the benchmark.
Option (d) “the market” is close but imprecise; the Act aims to keep markets competitive as a means to the end of consumer welfare, hence “market” alone does not capture the ultimate protected interest.
Therefore, the best and legally accurate choice is option (c) “the consumers,” reflecting the Act’s consumer-welfare orientation and remedial focus.