64 SOCIAL SCIENTIST by R K Hazari, Mahalanobis Committee, Dutt Committee, Monopolies Inquiry Commission and others were followed by certain measures supposed to curb the growth of monopoly and concentration. But, in practice, the power and influence of Big Business over the machinery for implementation has been so great as to dilute its purposes and emasculate the operational effectiveness. That is why Big Business has been more powerful with every crisis that has blown over the economy. Through their lobby and influence over the press the large business groups have mounted severe attacks on the limited gains which were sought to be achieved through regulation and control. They always manage to secure relaxation of regulation and control as well as fiscal and other concessions in the wake of every crisis, belt a war, payments deficit or development slowdown. Even the present tirade against the so called cramping influence of licensing, regulation and control is to expand their penetrating influence into forbidden areas and regularization of the clandestine expansion. Apart from egalitarian considerations, growing industrial concentration has been wrecking the economy in a number of ways. First, the traditional habit of reaping abnormal profits through excess capacity and restricted trade practices is still rampant despite the Monopolies Commission. Over the years, the large industrial houses have played havoc through pre-empting of capacities as well as securing a lion's share of the quotas of scarce resources like steel, cement and foreign exchange. Secondly, the large industrial houses have amassed fabulous profits by creating and/expanding capacities in the non-priority luxury goods sector whose demand has been skyrocketing as a result of the expanding pressure of black money in the parallel economy. Many of them have treated all regulations and controls in respect of production of luxury goods with impunity. Such clandestine expansion is now being regularized, in the name of current needs of expanding production to beat the 'creeping recession''. Thirdly, the resources diverted into non-priority channels have limited the expansion of essential goods thereby contributing to the current shortage of essential commodities. Finally, increasing domination of Big Business has meant the retardation of many of the small and medium industries. Partly this is due to the entry of Big Business into the industries earmarked for the small and medium investors. Further, the growing power of large houses as buyers and sellers of components and processed raw materials has resulted in driving the smaller producers to the wall, spelling disaster for their future as well as for employment potential in the economy. MEENA GUPTA M J K THAVARAJ 1 Aurobindo Ghosli, Economic and Political Weekly, June 8^ 1974. 2 Ministry of Law, Justice and Company Affairs, Annual Report foi 1973-74; Estimates Committee on Industrial Licences, 50th Report.