In India, practices related to competitive and anti-competitive practices, in the post-1990 period, are regulated under the helm of the Competition Act, 2002. However, we are aware of the fact that this act requires some tremendous changes, so that it adapts with the information age we all live in. As of now, it has become obvious that India’s key strength at the level of diplomatic engagement and influence, is reliant on a new critical domain, which the Union Government has adapted with time - digital technologies. There are obvious reasons why India aims to become a technology superpower or at least a regulatory superpower in digital technologies, maybe in the lines of/better than the European Union. In this article, it is proposed how India can transform its competition policy, which is dynamic and adaptive, in sync with its technology policy.
India’s Technology Policy at a Glance
India’s tech policy is a mixed bag. However, the bureaucratic efforts to stabilise and empower its technology governance efforts has become quite visible. Now, there are some key areas, which complete the trajectory of the technology policy. In some ways, the developments should have been achieved way before, but maybe one advantage that India does have as compared to Japan, China, Singapore and other Asian economies is the Indo-Pacific situation. It is assumed that technology as a domain area for being distinctive need not be interconnected to other policy domains of concern.
However, the generalising (and homogenising) tendency of technology as we know, has led us to the reality where the role of technology has become generalist in many ways possible. Even in jurisprudence, technology law has the potential, in real terms, to gain the status of generalist purpose, akin to international law and public law. That is accounted due to the penetrable nature of the field, which countries across the world are concerned about. Not only it complicates the policy discourse surrounding technology governance, but it compels policymakers to propose sensible interconnected legal and policy conundrums, which germinate the purpose and extent of digital technologies in this information age. Of course, the extent of digital technologies may not be the same in every domain or industry, even if many technology enthusiasts and industrial leaders might envision the same. It is therefore necessary that India adapts to pursue rejuvenating its technology policy, which is all-comprehensive with its own speciality and mobility.
As discussed in the Book Review of “The Network State”, there could be a situation, where technology policies of the US and China would target the most active and evolving element of critical technology - mobility. Legal thinking can be used to create visible spaces for positional inference to guide tech-oriented mobility in various industries, which is where India’s concerns largely would lie. As of now, it is visible that technology governance in India, despite the absence of relevant legislations (and the presence of some sector-specific regulations), guides international trade, sustainable development, entrepreneurship and innovation.
Now, a regulatory regime is essential to India’s technology policies, which has a clear juristic understanding of ethical and unethical practices. The problem with the earlier withdrawn Data Protection Bill clearly was its arbitrary nature on multiple grounds. Another major reason for the withdrawal of the Bill is that India is required to enact a data protection law, which is effective, reasonable and far-reaching in line with other technology regulators in Europe and Asia.
It is true that certain big tech companies did not adhere with the IT Rules of 2021 in a proper manner. However, a pre-emptive approach to