Ravneet Kaur, a 1988 batch IAS officer, has become the first woman to head the country’s chief national competition regulator, the Competition Commission of India (CCI). Her appointment comes at a time when the regulatory body is conducting inquiries against tech giants like Google, Facebook, Amazon among others, for alleged anti-competitive practices.
The officer from the Punjab cadre was appointed the CCI Chairperson on May 15, for a period of five years, after the post fell vacant in October last year. She will head CCI till 2028, or till the age of 65 years, or until further orders, said the official government order.
Ms. Kaur became the second woman to serve in an ‘economic regulator’ role after Madhabi Puri Buch, was appointed chairperson of the market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) in 2022.
Ms. Ravnet Kaur brings with her over two decades of experience in governance, and she has held several key posts including that of chairman of India Tourism Development Corporation (2017-2019), joint secretary in the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (2015-2017).
Before her appointment as CCI chairperson, Ms. Kaur was special chief secretary (apex scale) in the Punjab government’s Agriculture and Cooperation Departments in Chandigarh.
Ms. Kaur, who hails from Chandigarh, began her civil services career as the sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) in Punjab’s Rajpura in 1990.
She has a Master’s degree in economics and public economic management from Panjab University. She is a recipient of the 1991 Census Silver Medal. She was also felicitated by the Institute of South Asian Women (ISAW) with its Women Achievers Award in 2019.
As per her executive record, Kaur has trained in international negotiations at the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, and in Infrastructure Development and Financing at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad.
