After several unmemorable penalties for a while, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) has imposed a penalty of a whopping 6,300 crore last week on 11 big players of the cement industry for fixing prices through a cartel. Fines for cartels under the Competition Act have to be determined on the basis of net profit or turnover, whichever is higher, and, in this case, the commission has imposed a penalty of 50% of the net profit of the firms for 2009-10 - although, under the law, it is allowed to fine up to 300% of the net profit.