India’s Digital Competition Bill: Status & Concerns

The Rajya Sabha’s response to an unstarred question on the Digital Competition Bill, 2024, outlines the current status and stakeholder consultations on the draft legislation. The Ministry of Corporate Affairs formed a Committee on Digital Competition Law (CDCL) based on recommendations from the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance. The CDCL held initial consultations in March 2023 with various stakeholders, including tech companies, industry associations, and think tanks. Following the committee’s report and a draft bill in February 2024, a public e-consultation was held from March to May 2024, gathering over 100 responses from a diverse group of stakeholders. Key concerns raised included the need to reconsider the ex-ante regulatory approach, the use of quantitative thresholds, and specific clauses related to data usage and tying/bundling of services. The government’s current position is that further evidence-based market studies are needed to inform the implementation of ex-ante regulation before proceeding with the Bill. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology also held additional discussions in June 2024.

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF CORPORATE AFFAIRS
RAJYA SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2944
ANSWERED ON 19.08.2025

DIGITAL COMPETITION BILL

QUESTION

2944. SMT. MAUSAM B NOOR:

Will the Minister of CORPORATE AFFAIRS be pleased to state:

(a) the details of the current status of the Draft Digital Competition Bill, 2024;

(b) the list of the stakeholders who were consulted after the submission of the comments;

(c) the details of the number of consultations, comments, and objections received by the Ministry on the draft Bill;

(d) whether the Ministry intends to release the draft Bill for future consultations; and

(e) if so, the details thereof?

ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF CORPORATE AFFAIRS AND MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS.

(SHRI HARSH MALHOTRA)

(a) to (e): Based on the recommendations of Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance in its Fifty-Third report on the subject “Anti-Competitive Practices by Big-Tech Companies”, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) constituted a Committee on Digital Competition Law (CDCL). Consultations on the Draft Digital Competition Bill (DCB) were conducted in consonance with the pre- Legislative Consultation policy (PLCP) of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) as under: –

• During March 2023, CDCL held consultations with entities and stakeholders likely to be impacted by the proposed law including industry associations, domestic and foreign digital enterprises and think-tanks etc. List of stakeholders is placed at Annexure-I.
• Post consultation, CDCL submitted its report along with a draft Digital Competition Bill (DCB) in February 2024.
• Report of the Committee on Digital Competition Law (CDCL) along with the Draft DCB prepared by the Committee was placed on MCA website under the e-Consultation mode from March 12- May 15, 2024. More than 100 stakeholders submitted responses, ranging from legal professionals, industry associations, civil society organisations, and domestic & foreign digital enterprises providing digital services in India. List of stakeholders is placed at Annexure-II.
• Additionally, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeiTY) organized stakeholder discussions between 18.06.2024 to 20.06.2024.

Suggestions/inputs/comments received from all stakeholders have been examined. The important suggestions given by the stakeholders are categorized as below: –

(i) Ex-ante regulation itself under the DCB may be reconsidered,

(ii) Quantitative thresholds (financial& user) suffer from both over-inclusivity and under-inclusivity and therefore may be reconsidered,

(iii) Key obligations under clauses 12 and 15 (data usage and tying and bundling respectively) may be reconsidered, and

(iv) Services included in Core Digital Services (CDS) list under Schedule I of the DCB may be reconsidered.

Based on the suggestions/comments/inputs received, it is felt that an evidence-based foundation through market studies is required to consider all relevant aspects for ex-ante regulation considering that it is in nascent stage of implementation.

****

Annexure-I

1. Amazon

2. Apple India Private Ltd.

3. Bundl Technologies Pvt Ltd. & Swiggy

4. Centre for the Digital future

5. Flipkart

6. Google

7. India Cellular and Electronics Association

8. Internet and Mobile Association of India

9. Meta (Facebook)

10. Oyo

11. Uber

12. USIBC

13. Zomato

14. All India Gaming Federation

15. Alliance of Digital India Foundation

16. Artha Global

17. Asia Travel Technology Industry Association

18. AZB & Partners

19. Confederation of All India Traders

20. Digital News Publishers Association

21. Esya Centre

22. Federation of Hotel & Restaurant Associations of India

23. Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations

24. MakeMyTrip

25. Newspaper Association of India

27. National Restaurant Association of India

28. NASSCOM

29. Paytm

Annexure-II