Paytm, OYO, Zomato Chiefs To Meet Parliamentary Panel To Discuss Anti-Competitive Practices By Big Techs

Top executives of eight home-grown tech firms will appear before the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance, which is looking into various aspects of anti-competitive practices employed by big tech companies, on Thursday (July 21).

According to a PTI report, Paytm CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma, Ola CFO Arun Kumar, MakeMyTrip Chairman Deep Kalra, Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal, and OYO Group CEO Ritesh Agarwal have been confirmed as attendees.

Apart from them, foodtech decacorn Swiggy’s vice president Avantika Bajaj, Flipkart Group CEO Kalyan Krishnamurthy and All India Gaming Federation CEO Roland Landers will also be part of the discussion.

In an official notice on the Lok Sabha website, the panel, headed by BJP MP Jayant Sinha, noted that it will hear the views of representatives of industry stakeholders on the subject ‘Anti-Competitive Practices by Big-tech companies’ on July 21.

The committee had previously summoned representatives of Google, Amazon, Facebook, Twitter and other big tech companies to examine their competitive conduct. 

The panel has already held wide-ranging talks with other stakeholders such as the Competition Commission of India (CCI), Ministry of Corporate Affairs, and Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology over the issue.

It also held a series of meetings with representatives of hospitality and restaurant associations and the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) on the issue.

The government has stepped up the scrutiny of tech giants in the country. In May, the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) issued notices to Ola, along with Uber, for unfair trade practices and violation of consumer rights. 

In July, the Department of Telecommunications warned ecommerce companies against the sale of wireless jammers and network boosters on its platform. In the same month, the CCPA also warned ecommerce portals of strict action for selling certain Ayurvedic, Siddha and Unani drugs without a valid prescription.

In May, it was reported that the investigative arm of the CCI was reviewing documents that suggested financial dealings between the ecommerce platforms and their preferred sellers.

Zomato and Swiggy too have been under the government scanner for anti-competitive practices. In April, the CCI ordered a probe into allegations of anti-competitive practices against the two foodtech giants.