The Centre for Social and Economic Progress (CSEP) hosted a seminar titled “Big Tech & Competition – What’s New and What’s Not?” on Friday, August 30, 2024. The seminar  featured a conversation with Dhanendra Kumar, Former Chairperson, Competition Commission of India; Rajat Kathuria, Dean, Shiv Nadar University; V Sridhar, Professor, IIIT Bengaluru; Archana G. Gulati, Professor, Technology and Competition Policy, Ex Adviser Combinations, Competition Commission of India; and Manjushree RM, Resident Fellow, Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy. Deepak Maheshwari, Senior Consultant, CSEP was the moderator.

The seminar was live-streamed on Zoom and the CSEP YouTube channel.

About the event

Ubiquitous and hyper-connected digital services and devices have created new modes of convenience, communication and commerce with innovative technologies and business models. In the process, a handful of large companies, collectively called the ‘Big Tech’, have emerged if one goes by revenue, user base or valuation and increasingly, even in terms of profitability. This in turn, has raised competition concerns globally whether it is the US or UK, EU or India as seen in a recent trial court determination in the US, the Digital Markets Act in the EU and the draft Digital Competition Bill in India. This nuanced discussion will look at competition with respect to the Big Tech and whether there really is a case for a separate law with ex ante provisions, considering the past half century of anti-trust history in this regard.

Speakers

• Dhanendra Kumar was the first Chairman, CCI. He was instrumental in setting up its enforcement machinery, regulations, systems and procedures, and steering the Commission in its initial years of existence, 2009 to 2011, especially its M&A regime, which he initiated.On completion of his term in CCI, he headed the Experts’ Committee to frame the Draft National Competition Policy, and suggesting amendments to the Competition Act, 2002. He also Chaired the Committee of experts of the Ministry of Housing to suggest regulatory reforms in the real estate and housing sector.Mr Kumar is currently advising, among others, the Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs (of Ministry of Corporate Affairs) as Distinguished Fellow for the School of Competition Law and Policy- the National Centre of Excellence in Competition and Regulatory Affairs. He is frequently invited to deliver lectures at various national and global forums.Before joining CCI, Mr Kumar was India’s Executive Director at the World Bank (2005-09) where he also represented Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Bhutan. He was also Secretary in Ministries of Defence Production, Transport, Culture, and earlier, Addl Secretary, Ministry of Telecom, etc. He also served in Haryana, as Principal Secretary to CM and Chairman HSIDC, where he is known for development of Udyog Vihar, Manesar, and industrial and infrastructural development.
• Rajat Kathuria is the Dean, School of Social Sciences and Humanities at the Shiv Nadar University. He has over 20 years’ experience in teaching and 25 years’ experience in economic policy, besides research interests on a range of issues relating to regulation and competition policy. Having joined TRAI in its early days, he was instrumental in pioneering and pro-competitive regulation with respect to tariffs and interconnection.He is Senior Visiting Professor, Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER) after serving there as Director and Chief Executive for more than eight years.He has worked with the World Bank, Washington DC as a Consultant and carried out research assignments for a number of international organizations, including ILO, UNCTAD, LirneAsia, World Bank and ADB. He has published in international and national journals, besides in popular magazines and newspapers.He is founder member of Broadband Society for Universal Access and served on the Board of Delhi Management Association. He is on several government committees and on the research advisory council of SBI. He has an undergraduate degree in Economics from St. Stephens College, a Masters from Delhi School of Economics and a PhD from the University of Maryland, College Park.
• V Sridhar is Professor at the Centre for IT and Public Policy at the International Institute of Information Technology Bangalore (IIIT-B), India. He is the author of three books: The Telecom Revolution in India: Technology, Regulation and Policy (Oxford University Press: 2012), The Dynamics of Spectrum Management: Legacy, Technology, and Economics (Oxford University Press: 2014), and Emerging ICT Policies and Regulations: Roadmap to Digital Economies (Springer: 2019); and edited book titled Data Centric Living: Algorithms, Digitization and Regulation (Routledge: 2021). He has published many articles in peer-reviewed leading telecom and information systems journals. Dr Sridhar has taught at many Institutions in the USA, Finland, New Zealand and India. He has been a member of Government of India committees on Telecom and IT and also has industry experience in the communication industry. He has written more than 350 articles in prominent business newspapers and magazines relating to telecom regulation and policy in India. He has received funding from different sources, both national and international for his research projects. Dr Sridhar has a Ph.D. from the University of Iowa, U.S.A. His work can be accessed at: http://www.vsridhar.info
• Archana G. Gulati is a strategic adviser on digital transformation frontier technologies and competition regulation. She also teaches at leading universities and public policy institutes. With over 33 years of experience, her journey began as an Indian Civil Services officer (1989 batch), and she continued to excel in her field after taking voluntary retirement in 2021. Her career milestones include serving as a Senior Adviser on Competition Law with Trilegal and as the Head of Public Policy at Google, India, until October 2022.Dr Gulati’s academic journey is marked by her pursuit of excellence. She holds a BA Honours in Economics from Lady Sri Ram College, Delhi University, an LLM (Telecom & IT law) from the University of Strathclyde, UK, and a PhD from the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi.Her various posts in the Indian government include Advisor (Digital Communications) at the National Institute for Transforming India (NITI Aayog), Officer on Special Duty (OSD) to the Chairperson of the Telecom Commission of India, and Advisor and Head of the Combinations (M&A) Division at the Competition Commission of India.Dr Gulati has been an expert with the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) since 2010. She was Co-rapporteur of the ITU-Development sector’s Study Group 1, Q6/1 (2018-21), which dealt with Consumer Protection in the Digital Age. She has also represented the Asia Pacific Region as Vice-Chair of the ITU Working Group on Finance and Human Resources.
• Manjushree RM is a Senior Resident Fellow at Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy. She has previously advised the Ministry of Corporate Affairs on the Competition (Amendment) Bill, 2022, and has also advised the International Financial Services Centre Authority. She graduated from NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad in 2019. Her primary areas of interest are International Economic Law and Competition Law. She is a trained theatre enthusiast, and has featured in several plays directed by the National School of Drama.

Moderator

• Deepak Maheshwari is a public policy practitioner with a keen interest in its interplay with technological innovation and socio-economic development. Currently, he is Senior Consultant at Centre for Social and Economic Progress (CSEP).Earlier, he led the public policy function in Microsoft, Mastercard, Symantec, and Sify for over two decades spanning India, South Asia, ASEAN and China regions. He has also been affiliated with ICRIER, CUTS International, Indicus Centre for Financial Inclusion and Centre for Digital Future. He has also served as global chair of IEEE Internet Initiative, Secretary of the ISP Association of India and as Advisory Board Member of the IIM Ahmedabad-Idea Telecom Center of Excellence and as CEO of Public Affairs Forum of India. He is also a Member, Public Affairs Advisory Board of Palo Alto Networks.He co-founded the National Internet Exchange of India (NIXI) and the ITU-APT Foundation of India and helped form the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI). He has studied engineering and law.

Closing Remarks

• Bhavna Sharma is a Research Associate in the Digital Economy Vertical at CSEP with experience across research, drafting, analysis of various legislations and subordinate legislations as well as litigation and compliance.

Contact Information

For general queries, please contact Gurmeet Kaur at Gkaur@csep.org. For media inquiries, please reach out to Trishna Wahengbam at twahengbam@csep.org.

All content reflects the individual views of the speakers. The Centre for Social and Economic Progress (CSEP) does not hold an institutional view on any subject.