The Competition Commission of India (CCI) will be hosting the 8^thBRICS International Competition Conference (BRICS ICC) 2023, themed ‘New Issues in Competition Law and Policy – Dimensions, Perspectives, Challenges’. The Conference, being held in New Delhi from 11^th-13^th October,  would witness participation of more than 600 delegates from the competition authorities of BRICS and non-BRICS nations, competition law experts, non-government advisors and domestic invitees.

Addressing the media at the Curtain Raiser event here today, Smt. Ravneet Kaur, Chairperson, CCI said that the BRICS ICC is a seminal event to be held in India after a decade. Highlighting the objective of the conference, she said, “The conference aims to discuss various emerging issues and challenges in competition enforcement in BRICS countries and take forward the agenda of cooperation among the BRICS competition authorities”.

The Chairperson informed that joint reports on Leniency Programme and Digital Economy will be released and discussed.  She added that Hon’ble Justice Ashok Bhushan, Chairperson, National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) will deliver the keynote address at the opening ceremony of the BRICS ICC on October 12. The heads of BRICS competition authorities will address the closing ceremony on October 13 and sign a Joint Statement, she further added.

The conference, hosted biennially by the BRICS competition authorities, provides a platform for promoting cooperation, experience sharing and mutual learning amongst the competition authorities of BRICS countries. The 8^th edition of the conference will comprise three plenary sessions and four breakout sessions on the following themes:

• BRICS Joint Documents (Leniency Programme & Digital Economy Reports)
• New Issues in Competition Law and Policy in the BRICS Countries
• Promoting Soft law Tools to Create a Pro-competitive Environment in the Markets
• Competition Analysis in Digital Economy: Big Technologies and Algorithms
• Sustainability and Climate change: New Dimensions in Competition Law
• Role of Market Studies in Emerging Competition Issues
• Challenges in Merger Control: International Perspective

Key speakers at the conference will include, among others:

• Smt. Ravneet Kaur, Chairperson, CCI
• Mr. Victor Oliveira Fernandes, Commissioner, CADE, Brazil
• Mr. Maxim Shaskolsky, Head, FAS, Russia
• Ms. Gan Lin, Vice Minister of SAMR, Administrator of the State Anti-Monopoly Administration, China
• Ms. Doris Tshepe, Commissioner, CCSA, South Africa

Other dignitaries present at the Curtain Raiser event included CCI Members Shri Anil Agrawal, Ms. Sweta Kakkad and Shri Deepak Anurag, among other senior officers of the Commission. 

Competition cooperation across BRICS to advance leniency and digital economy collaboration and harmonise enforcement approaches. An international conference convenes competition authorities and experts to advance cooperation on enforcement and policy responses to emergent competition challenges, emphasising joint work on leniency programmes and competition issues in the digital economy. Delegates will review joint reports on Leniency Programme and Digital Economy, participate in plenary and breakout sessions, and pursue dialogue on harmonising investigatory and enforcement practices across BRICS jurisdictions, including soft law tools, market studies, sustainability considerations, and cross border merger control challenges.