CCI Is Enhancing Its Tools To Address Digital Market Barriers
Competition Commission chairman Ashok Kumar Gupta said on Saturday that the agency is continually enhancing its toolset to face the difficulties posed by digital markets and aims to employ data scientists and algorithm specialists for its forthcoming digital markets and data section.
In recent years, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) has dealt with several instances involving technological marketplaces, including online marketplace platforms, app stores, payment gateways, online travel, restaurant aggregators, and social media.
“As market regulators, we cannot overlook the challenges that market power and business practises of gatekeeper platforms pose to other market participants — those who are competing with them and, more so, those who deal with them (and rely upon them),” he said.
Gupta, speaking at a seminar organised by the CCI and the industry association Assocham, emphasised that the regulator is continually refining its antitrust and merger toolset to tackle these difficulties, thus measuring itself against global best practises.
The regulator is in the midst of establishing a separate Digital Markets and Data Unit, among other initiatives (DMDU).
“In addition to our staff from the law, economics, and finance streams, we plan to staff the unit with new professional profiles such as data scientists, algorithm experts, etc,” the CCI chairperson said.
Since its inception thirteen years ago, CCI has assessed more than 1,200 antitrust cases and 965 submissions involving mergers.
The regulator has intervened in the cement, tyre, real estate, pharmaceutical, entertainment, coal, and digital industries, among others.
The head of the CCI emphasised that enterprises must establish compliance strategies that inspire regulator and industry confidence.
“To ensure the long-term viability of a trust-based system, proactive competition compliance must be an integral part of corporate governance strategies.” This will also improve their worldwide competitiveness.
“The Indian Competition Act encourages this mutual meaningful relationship between competition and corporate governance,” Gupta said, adding that with its ex-post strict enforcement, the controller has been able to develop a substantive body of anti-trust jurisprudence.
Further, he said while applying the law, CCI is “conscious that onerous procedures and processes do not create regulatory cholesterol.”
In the last several years, a number of measures have been implemented to streamline processes, easing compliance and facilitating swift disposal.
“The Commission’s endeavour has been to regulate but not burden businesses with unnecessary compliance,” he decided to add.
In addition, he emphasised other proposed changes to the competition legislation, such as the introduction of the framework for settlement and commitment.
In an effort to expand its reach, CCI has so far established three regional offices in Chennai, Kolkata, and Mumbai.
According to Gupta, the State Resource Persons Scheme is anticipated to help the formulation of cohesive competition policies at the state level, namely in the field of public procurement.
