Competition Commission of India Hosts 9th National Conference on Economics of Competition Law

New Delhi: The 9th National Conference on Economics of Competition Law was organized by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) in New Delhi today. The event brought together scholars, practitioners, and experts in the field of competition law economics, marking the ninth edition of the annual conference initiated by the CCI in 2016.

Dr. Arvind Virmani, Member of NITI Aayog, served as the Keynote Speaker, offering insights into the role of competitive markets in fostering inclusive growth. He elaborated on the elements of the Bharatiya Model of Inclusive Development, emphasizing the importance of the Indic market economy, antodaya empowerment, and a holistic approach.

Dr. Virmani underscored the role of government and regulators in creating efficient markets within the Indic market economy. He highlighted the need for competition regulation to be anchored in the broader objectives of economic growth and efficiency, addressing the imperatives of creating missing markets and improving imperfect markets.

The Keynote Address also touched upon the reforms in the past decade, including policy, institutional, bureaucratic, and social welfare reforms. Dr. Virmani emphasized the need to consider the share of imports and open economy implications in the framework of competition assessment. He discussed the impact of tariff protection on competition in tradeable goods and highlighted the role of competition regulation in the context of the digital sector and initiatives to reduce inequality.

Ravneet Kaur, Chairperson of CCI, delivered a Special Address, emphasizing that markets can deliver efficient outcomes only when competitive opportunities are preserved and anti-competitive impediments are removed. She highlighted recent amendments to competition law in India, including leniency plus regulations, and mentioned forthcoming regulations on settlements, commitments, computation of turnover, deal value threshold, and penalty guidelines.

Addressing the growing significance of artificial intelligence (AI), Kaur announced that CCI will initiate a Market Study on AI to comprehend its evolving landscape and use cases in Indian markets. This study aims to inform CCI’s strategies to foster innovation and fair competition.

The conference featured technical sessions on ‘Regulation of Competition in Digital Markets: Emerging Approaches, Theories, and Tools’ and ‘Competition, Consolidation, and Innovation: Trends and Perspectives.’ Researchers presented papers on the economics of competition law, and the event concluded with a Plenary Session on ‘Artificial Intelligence: Challenges and Opportunities,’ moderated by Dr. Arghya Sengupta, Founder and Research Director of Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy.