New Delhi, March 16 -- India may enact a dedicated law to curb the anti-competitive conduct of large digital enterprises, or big tech, in the months following the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. A recommendation for such a law was made by a parliamentary standing committee in December 2022, after which the ministry of corporate affairs appointed an expert panel to examine the advice and draft a digital competition bill.

A major concern of the parliamentary committee and the expert panel was the rising dominance of a few big tech companies in the digital market which gave them an edge over smaller businesses and start-ups. They felt anti-competitive conduct of large digital enterprises needs to be regulated on an ex-ante basis, rather than on t...