Agility in digital markets regulation

India publishes Big Tech competition report and draft legislation

by Anshuman Sakle and Siddharth Bagul

The Indian antitrust regime has witnessed a host of key updates in the past year, most significant of which is the proposal to regulate digital markets under a de-novo legislation. A key catalyst behind the proposal was a report prepared by the Standing Committee of Finance (Standing Committee Report)¹ which highlighted: (i) a list of 10 anti-competitive practices routinely undertaken by big-tech enterprises; and (ii) the anti-competitive impact of such practices on digital markets. Additionally, the Standing Committee Report also focused on: (i) systemic issues in the extant Indian competition law framework; and (ii) concerns associated with ensuring competitiveness in digital markets in India, among others.