Digital competition law after due process: Union Minister Harsh Malhotra

The digital competition law will be brought out after following the due process, Union Minister Harsh Malhotra said on Sunday. More than 100 suggestions have been received on the draft Digital Competition Bill (DCB), which was put out for public consultations by the corporate affairs ministry last year.

Malhotra, the Minister of State for Corporate Affairs, said the report from the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY) on the bill is awaited.

"We are not in a hurry (on bringing the digital competition law)... (we will follow) due process," the minister said.


Speaking at the National Conference on Economics of Competition Law in the national capital, he also said the best practices with respect to digital markets in other jurisdictions like Japan, Australia, and Europe can be looked at and how they can fit into the Indian market.

He also called for real-time monitoring and analysing of markers to ensure fair competition.

The DCB has proposed certain ex-ante provisions to ensure proactive monitoring of the behaviour of large digital enterprises and curb possible competitive practices.

Currently, the Competition Act primarily envisages an 'ex-post' framework of intervention, wherein the CCI intervenes after the occurrence of anti-competitive conduct.