The government is not in a hurry to bring the digital competition law, minister of state for corporate affairs Harsh Malhotra said on Sunday, and called “adequate deliberations” on the draft bill.
“In 2023, we have amended the Competition Act to tackle the issue of market dominance effectively. There’s still a need for digital competition law. After the due process, the government is keen on bringing this law,” the minister said at the 10th national conference on economics of competition law.
Introduced in March 2024, the draft digital competition bill (DCB) has been facing opposition from various stakeholders due to its ex-ante provisions that anticipate and prevent potentially anti-competitive conduct before it occurs. Typically, the anti-competition regulations in India are ex-post which mandates a regulatory action after an anti-competitive act has taken place.
The minister said that the draft bill has received over 100 comments, and there are discussions happening on how to protect Indian digital entities from global tech giants, and also to protect small digital companies from large Indian players.
“We must also study the digital competition acts in other geographies such as European countries, Japan and Australia, and adopt their best practices as per the needs of the Indian digital market,” Malhotra said adding that the ministry of electronics and information technology (MeitY) is also discussing on this issues, however, they are to release their report on DCB.
He said that the Competition Commission of India (CCI) is just not keeping a check on the anti-competitive behaviours, it’s also providing level-playing field for the new entrants in the market.
“The fair competition has a positive effect on the markets and economy. A sustained competition is important. The corporate affairs ministry is not just implementing laws. We are building an ecosystem of fair competition that fosters innovation and benefit end consumers,” the minister said.