Shri Rajiv Gauba, Member, NITI Aayog delivers the Keynote address at the CCI Conference

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) organised the 11^th National Conference on Economics of Competition Law in New Delhi today. Shri Rajiv Gauba, Member, NITI Aayog was the Keynote Speaker at the Conference, while Smt. Ravneet Kaur, Chairperson, CCI delivered the Special Address at the Inaugural Session of the Conference.

The Conference, which brings together scholars, practitioners, and experts working in the area of economics of competition law, has been organised by the CCI every year since 2016.

Shri Rajiv Gauba, Hon'ble Member, NITI Aayog, in his Keynote Address referred to competition as one of the most potent engines of human progress. Left to their own devices without robust policy and oversight, markets can breed concentration, collusion and exclusion, he said.

He added that well designed competition laws create moral architecture of markets. He noted that in an emerging economy like India, competition law and regulations serve multiple development and governance goals, by preventing entrenched monopolies, promoting open entry and opportunities for small businesses and by helping integrate the economy into global value chains.

Tracing the evolution of the competition paradigm in India in the context of the structural transformation that the Indian economy underwent over decades post-independence, he underscored the importance of optimal regulation through actions and forbearance, to benefit from the invigorating push of competition.

Referring to the Prime Minister's vision of Viksit Bharat 2047, he said that it would entail ensuring markets are truly competitive, both domestically and globally. In this context, he highlighted four institutional pillars for well-functioning markets, viz.,  contestability - firms must be able to enter and exit without prohibitive regulatory or practical obstacles; information symmetry - buyers, sellers and regulators need timely access to reliable market data so that choices are meaningful and markets are receptive; non-discriminatory access to all infrastructure including physical, digital & financial infrastructure; and independent and predictable dispute resolution and enforcement institutions.

Referring to the rise of digital economy as a structural break in market dynamics and given the features of digital economy that create winner-takes-most scenarios, he commended the Competition Commission of India for establishing a dedicated Digital Markets Division.

Shri Gauba stated that India is aligning its regulatory posture with global peers with the aim to ensure that the Digital Highway remains open to all, not just the few who built the road. With the emergence of the new frontier of AI, he stressed on the need for our competition toolkit to evolve to address the novel risks posed by AI. “We must guard against ecosystem entrenchment and ensure data portability and interoperability,” he added. 

Smt. Ravneet Kaur, Chairperson, CCI, in her Special Address, highlighted that the Competition Act is an interdisciplinary Act with economic principles embedded in it. Economics is therefore placed at the centre of Commission’ work and the Commission’s analysis and decisions are based on rigorous economic analysis in order to establish any potential appreciable adverse effects on competition. The aim is to ensure that competition and business success is based on merit and not on exclusionary, exploitative or anti-competitive conduct.

Chairperson, CCI highlighted that over the course of the last year, CCI has notified and implemented all regulations for operationalising the 2023 amendment to the Competition Act, 2023. She said, in 2025, a revised regulation on cost of production was brought in with a view to provide a consistent and transparent framework on determination of predatory pricing.

Referring to the first settlement proposal in the Android Smart TV ecosystem processed by the CCI in 2025, she highlighted that settlement mechanism allows to enforce quick market correction while closing the chapter for further litigation.

She further mentioned that the Commission throughout the past one year has dealt with antitrust matters across various sectors including cartelisation and bid rigging cases in the sectors of defence procurement, liquor and solid waste management. During the past one year, based on the Informations and investigations undertaken, matters were decided across multiple sectors, leading to cease and desist orders, penalties and other suitable remedies.

On the combinations front, the Commission has followed a proactive and systematic consistent approach with a disposal rate of more than 99%. The Commission’s approach has been positive and solution oriented, she added

Referring to the CCI market study on AI and competition completed in October 2025, Chairperson CCI said that there are huge benefits of AI, including efficiency gains, greater market access for MSMEs, but the potential anti-competitive actions also need to be watched.

She mentioned that CCI has issued a guidance note which provides self-audit mechanism by the stakeholders, by the boards, management and the decision makers in the organisations as to how they can ensure that at the stage of development, deployment, monitoring of AI applications, there are not any hidden anti-competitive outcomes which may be happening.

Shri Deepak Anurag, Member, CCI made the welcome remarks and Shri Anil Agrawal, Member, CCI proposed the vote of thanks during the Inaugural Session.

The Conference, in addition to the Inaugural Session, featured two technical sessions on ‘Competition and Firm Conduct: Evidence and Policy Implications’ and ‘Ownership, Market Power, and Consumer Welfare’, where researchers presented papers on the economics of competition law. The first session was chaired by Dr. Saptarshi Mukherjee, Professor, Humanities and Social Science, IIT Delhi. Dr. Biswajit Dhar, Vice President, Council for Social Development, chaired the second session.

The National Conference concluded with a Plenary Session on ‘Competition and AI: Technical Developments, Regulatory Experience, and Business Impact’ which was chaired by Ms. Sweta Kakkad, Member, CCI, and moderated by Ms. Shweta Rajpal Kohli, President and CEO, Startup Policy Forum.

Competition law: adapt enforcement and regulation for digital markets and AI to prevent ecosystem entrenchment and ensure interoperability. The Conference emphasised the central role of competition law and economics in preventing concentration and exclusion, identifying four institutional pillars-contestability, information symmetry, non discriminatory infrastructure access, and independent enforcement-and called for adaptation of the competition toolkit for digital markets and AI to prevent ecosystem entrenchment and ensure data portability and interoperability. It noted regulatory steps including operationalising 2023 amendments, a revised cost of production regulation for predatory pricing, a proactive approach to combinations, use of a settlement mechanism, and a market study plus guidance on AI risks and self audit measures.