Issued by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) on 28.07.2026, effective immediately. The last date for submission of the Expression of Interest (EoI) stands extended to 17.08.2026.
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Background: CCI's REoI for Market Studies Empanelment
The Competition Commission of India conducts market studies and surveys under the Competition Act, 2002, and empanels external institutions and agencies to carry out this work on its behalf.
On 15 June 2026, CCI floated a Request for Expression of Interest (REoI) inviting institutions and agencies to apply for empanelment to conduct market studies and surveys. Prospective bidders were given a window — until 30 June 2026 — to raise queries and seek clarifications on the eligibility criteria, scope of work, and procedural requirements set out in the REoI.
Having reviewed all queries received within that window, CCI has now issued this Modifications and Clarifications note dated 28 July 2026. It makes one substantive amendment to the eligibility criteria and answers five distinct queries on qualification standards, group-company credentials, subcontracting, the scope of "relevant experience," and CCI's discretion to award work outside the competitive empanelment process. The note also extends the EoI submission deadline to 17 August 2026.
The Modification: Clause 4(ii) Eligibility Criteria
The one substantive amendment responds to a query asking whether the requirement of two economics experts applies only to permanent employees, or whether affiliated faculty, visiting fellows, and full-time project-based researchers would also satisfy the criterion.
Required at least two Economics experts on the Institution/Agency's rolls, holding a Master's degree in the specified disciplines.
Still requires two Economics experts with the same Master's-degree qualification — but the "on its rolls" condition is removed, opening the door to affiliated, visiting, or project-based experts.
Five Clarifications Issued to Prospective Bidders
Beyond the one amendment, CCI answered five further queries without changing the underlying text of the REoI.
1. Is the Master's Degree Requirement Interpreted Strictly?
Bidders asked whether eligibility would be judged strictly by the title of the Master's degree, or whether equivalent postgraduate qualifications — including an MBA with Business Economics and Econometrics, or a PhD in Population Studies/Demography with relevant professional experience — would also qualify.
The Master's degree must be in one of the specific disciplines listed in Clause 4(ii). The equivalent qualifications cited in the query — including an MBA or a PhD in Population Studies/Demography — do not satisfy the eligibility criterion.
2. Can Parent or Group Company Credentials Be Used?
A related query asked whether the credentials, project experience, and CVs of experts from a parent company or other group companies could supplement the bidding institution's own experience for eligibility and evaluation purposes.
Work experience and studies completed by a parent or group entity may count toward eligibility under Clause 4(i), provided that entity will itself be involved in the work if assigned by CCI. The bidding Institution/Agency must still independently satisfy Clause 3(iv).
The same condition applies to experts from parent/group entities counted toward the Clause 4(ii) staffing requirement — they must be earmarked to work on the assignment, subject to applicable Indian law.
3. Can Field Survey Work Be Outsourced?
Bidders asked whether empaneled institutions may engage field survey agencies or other specialized service providers for ground-level data collection while retaining overall responsibility for the assignment.
Clause 10(iv) requires empaneled Institutions/Agencies to handle assigned work themselves, without delegating it, and to take complete responsibility for it.
That said, depending on the nature of a specific assignment, the technical requirements for that bid may permit engagement of field survey agencies or specialized service providers for tasks such as ground-level data collection — provided overall responsibility stays with the bidding Institution/Agency.
4. Do Broader Market and Regulatory Studies Count as Relevant Experience?
Bidders asked whether experience in broader economic and market studies — infrastructure, public policy, agriculture, the financial sector, and similar — would count as relevant experience, or whether only competition-law/antitrust-specific studies would qualify.
Per Clause 4(i) and Annexure I (1.4), studies unrelated to competition law or antitrust — including those on markets, regulation, and allied subjects — will also count as relevant experience.
5. Can CCI Award Work Without Competitive Bidding?
The final query asked whether assignments may also be awarded on a nomination basis, where the Commission considers this appropriate.
Clause 10(i) does not bind CCI to seek competitive bids from empaneled Institutions/Agencies alone. The Commission retains discretion to award assignments on a nomination basis where appropriate, subject to the General Financial Rules (GFR) and other applicable legal provisions.
In view of the modification and clarifications above, the last date for submission of the EoI has been extended to 17 August 2026.
Key Changes at a Glance
Compliance Checklist for Prospective Bidders
Confirm expert qualifications — each of the two required economics experts must hold a Master's degree specifically in Economics, Business Economics, Financial Economics, Econometrics, or Statistics; MBA and allied PhD holders will not qualify.
Reassess expert engagement models — experts no longer need to be full-time employees "on its rolls" under amended Clause 4(ii); affiliated, visiting, or project-based experts can now be counted.
Document group-company reliance — if relying on parent/group company credentials, confirm that entity will actually be deployed on the assignment, and separately satisfy Clause 3(iv).
Plan subcontracting carefully — engaging field survey agencies is permissible only where a specific bid's technical requirements allow it, and only while your institution retains overall responsibility under Clause 10(iv).
Compile a broader experience portfolio — market and regulatory studies beyond competition law/antitrust count under Clause 4(i) and Annexure I (1.4).
Factor in nomination-basis awards — empanelment under Clause 10(i) does not guarantee competitively bid work; CCI may award assignments on nomination, subject to GFR.
Submit before the extended deadline — the EoI must now be filed by 17 August 2026.
CorpLawUpdates Analysis
The most consequential change here is a calibrated one, not a wholesale liberalisation. By dropping the "on its rolls" condition, CCI has widened the pool of institutions that can credibly claim to field "two economics experts" — bringing in universities, think tanks, and research consortia that rely on visiting faculty or project-linked researchers rather than full-time payroll staff. But in the same breath, CCI closed off the more consequential ambiguity: whether the degree requirement itself could be satisfied by adjacent qualifications. The answer is an unambiguous no. Read together, the two moves widen who can supply the experts without widening what counts as an expert.
For research and consulting firms built around business-economics or MBA-trained staff — a common profile in India's market-research and economic-consulting industry — this clarification is a real constraint, not a formality. Institutions should audit their bench strength against the literal degree titles in Clause 4(ii) before assuming the loosened "on its rolls" language solves their eligibility problem; the rolls issue and the degree issue are separate, and only one of them has been relaxed.
The clarification on field survey agencies is also deliberately conditional — CCI has not created a blanket right to subcontract. Whether outsourcing ground-level data collection is permissible will depend on the technical requirements of each specific work order, not on the REoI in general. Bidders should treat this as an assignment-by-assignment determination rather than a standing entitlement, and should be prepared to retain — and demonstrate — overall responsibility regardless of who executes the fieldwork. Separately, the confirmation that CCI can award assignments on a nomination basis under Clause 10(i) is a reminder that empanelment secures eligibility to be considered, not a guaranteed pipeline of work.
This REoI reflects CCI's continuing effort to build external capacity for evidence-based market studies under the Competition Act, 2002, rather than a one-off exercise. Institutions that clear this empanelment bar should expect the eligibility and documentation standards clarified here — particularly around expert qualifications and group-company credentials — to recur in future empanelment cycles, and would do well to build their compliance files accordingly.
Source: Modifications and Clarifications — REoI for Empanelment of Institutions/Agencies for conducting Market Studies and Surveys, Competition Commission of India, dated 28.07.2026.
This article is for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute legal or regulatory advice. Verify with primary regulatory sources before acting.