The market disruption caused by digital revolution warrants renewed focus and perspective to ensure fair competition in the digital economy. In this light, discuss the need to revamp the Competition Commission of India (CCI).

21st century is fast becoming synonymous as the 'Digital Age' sparking a Digital Revolution in the backdrop of 'Industrial Revolution 4.0'

This puts focus on free and fair competition in digital economy as:-

i- e-commerce is blooming Eg 3rd largest fintech startups in India

ii- New concern for 'Attention economy' where algorithms blur line b/w profit & privacy

iii- Use of social media for businesses is now imperative for advertising eg Instagram, Facebook

This creates a need for revamp of CCI

-i- Encourage democratic access Eg Ministry of Commerce's ONDC platform

-ii- Bid for 'Open Source Codes' for equitable access to smaller players (Reduce barriers to entry) Eg Android used by Xiomi

-iii- 'Creative Destruction' underway due to digital revolution Eg Mckinsey predicts 80% jobs are under threat from AI

-iv- Ethical use of Big data analytics by economic platforms Eg subversion of democracy in Cambridge Analytica case

-v- Need for specialized domain knowledge in bureaucracy

to understand emerging concerns like BEPS, Round tripping, Money laundering Eg NEST branch in MEA

However challenges in CCI include :-

-i- Structural bottlenecks due to bureaucratic inertia -ii- Reactive rather than proactive approach -iii- Jurisdictional overlap Eg FCRA -iv- High pendency in NCLAT of cases disproportionately impacts MSMES.

Need of the hour is to

→ our approach to policy making, especially CCI to ensure a $ 5 trillion knowledge economy