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As India prepares its digital competition law, inter-regulatory consultation mechanisms are the need of the hour, writes Saksham Malik

The Committee on Digital Competition Law (CDCL) recently released its report recommending a new digital competition legilsation and the Draft Digital Competition Bill (DCB) with stakeholders currently given until 15 May to provide their feedback. Recognising the advancement of the digital markets in India and the limitations of the existing competition regime, the committee emphasised the necessity of a new ex-ante framework. In its assessment, the committee scrutinised various statutory instruments governing digital enterprises, including the Foreign Direct Investment Policy, the Draft National E-commerce Policy, the proposed Digital India Act, and the recently enacted Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, among others.

What did the committee say?

On identifying numerous statutory instruments and examining their overlaps and conflicts with the DCB, the committee concluded that the proliferation of disparate digital enterprise regulations creates a fragmented regulatory landscape. Additionally, the committee noted that specific instruments, such as the proposed Digital India Act, have not yet materialised, leading to uncertainty regarding their scope and implementation.