The 10-member Committee on Digital Competition Law (CDCL), appointed by the Corporate Affairs Ministry (MCA), will meet on Wednesday to fine-tune the contours of digital competition law. 

This will be the seventh meeting of CDCL under the chairmanship of MCA Secretary Manoj Govil.

The panel — which was set up on February 6 — has overshot the three-month deadline for finalising its report and a draft of the proposed law. 

The working groups set up by the panel have submitted their presentations. Now the entire exercise is in the last lap, with the government and industry set to deliberate on the draft law on Wednesday, sources said.

Indications are that the panel’s tenure may be extended by a few months, as CDCL is still discussing the contours of the proposed framework to tackle the anti-competitive conduct of Big Tech.

Also read:Do we need the Digital Competition Act?

CDCL has been asked to examine the need for an ex-ante regulatory mechanism for digital markets through a separate legislation. It has also been asked to prepare a draft Digital Competition Act. 

The panel will also have to review whether the existing provisions in the Competition Act and the rules and regulations framed under it are sufficient to deal with the challenges that have emerged from the digital economy. 

India is contemplating enacting a Digital Competition Act at a time when there is growing concern among policymakers globally over the power and dominance of tech giants in the digital economy, and the need to ensure a level playing field for all market players. 

Competition law experts are still divided over whether India needs a separate digital competition law. Some contend that it would be premature for India to go in for an ex-ante framework through a separate law to prevent anti-competitive conduct by Big Tech in digital markets.