From the Chairman’s desk
From the Chairman’s desk

Greetings on Holi, India’s Biggest festival of colours, friendship & bonhomie.

India announced General Elections, to be held in 7 phases starting 19th April till 1st June, results on 4th June. This is world’s biggest democratic exercise, involving 960 million voters, many first timers.

In a major address covering several hot-button issues, PM Modi outlined his policies and vision, saying it is India’s moment.

Earlier, PM Modi inaugurated several major oil and gas sector projects in Bihar, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab, and Karnataka. Adani Green Energy (AGEL) announced operationalization of 1,000 MW solar energy capacity at Khavda, Gujarat, reaching a capacity of 9,478 MW. AGEL aims for 45,000 MW by 2030, with 2.4 million solar modules.    

March 2024 saw a flurry of developments in Competition Law. The Supreme Court agreed to hear CCI's appeal against the Delhi High Court's Monsanto Order, on CCI's jurisdiction on patent matters. On March 6, CCI introduced several new regulations and guidelines aligning with the Competition (Amendment) Act, 2023, covering settlements, commitments, turnover determination, and monetary penalties, then an increase in the de minimis threshold.

Shortly thereafter, the Committee on Digital Competition Law released a report advocating for ex-ante regulations, through the Draft Digital Competition Bill. Public feedback invited till April 15, 2024. Separately, CCI launched an investigation into Google's Play Store billing policies for potential competition law violations (see my ET article in Blogs); however, start-ups' pleas for interim relief against Google's fees dismissed by CCI.

Please stay tuned with us for further updates.

Honored to call on Hon’ble President of India at Rashtrapati Bhavan

Honored to call on Hon’ble Finance Minister, Govt. of India

Honored to call on Sr. Minister (now Hon'ble President) Singapore, Mr. Tharman Shanmugaratnam

COMPETITION LAW TOWNHALL - 13 SEPTEMBER