Centre Bats For ‘Whole Government Approach’ In Digital Competition Law

Union ministers Nirmala Sitharaman and Rajeev Chandrasekhar, while in a meeting recently agreed to adopt a ‘Whole Government Approach’ in making the provisions of the Digital Competition Law. 

Sitharaman, the Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs, held a meeting with Chandrasekhar, the Minister of State for Electronics, Technology, Entrepreneurship and Skill Development and discussed various aspects of the digital competition law.

“The two Ministers discussed in detail various issues on the ‘Digital Competition Laws’ and agreed that a ‘Whole Government approach’ should be adopted in the framing of provisions in this regard,” the finance ministry said in a tweet.

The appointed panel, chaired by Corporate Affairs Secretary Manoj Govil, will prepare a report on the digital competition law. The report will look at various regulatory aspects in dealing with challenges cropping up in India’s digital economy.

Digital Competition Law

Currently, all competition legislation in India is looked over by the watchdog, the Competition Commission of India (CCI).

Last December, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance tabled a report in the Parliament, ‘Anti-competitive practices by Big Tech companies’, urging the Union government to introduce a new digital competition law to rein in big tech players. 

“Digital Competition Act [is] necessary to ensure a fair, transparent and contestable digital ecosystem,” the report’s recommendations said at the time.

Soon thereafter, the CCI constituted a committee to look into ways to implement a digital competition law. The panel, chaired by Govil, is reviewing existing competition norms and will examine the need for new legislation to tame the ‘digital gatekeepers’.

The committee is also examining the practices of major players (Systemically Important Digital Intermediaries) in the digital domain, which ‘limit or have the potential to cause harm in digital markets.’

The panel also invited several startups and news publishers to join for a more holistic view of the digital competition law.

Since the formation of the committee, many industry bodies have made their submissions, batting in favour of India’s startup ecosystem – now the world’s third-largest startup ecosystem.

For instance, the Alliance of Digital India Foundation (ADIF) said in a submission made in April that big techs would be the biggest beneficiaries at the cost of Indian digital startups in case of the absence of this law.

While the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) also made a submission to that extent, the said submission was vehemently opposed by major Indian startups, who dubbed the submission ‘pro-foreign’.

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