Vivek Agarwal, Partner (Competition), DMD Advocates, addressed a two-day workshop on Competition Law at the National Law University Odisha, Cuttack on October 6 and 7, 2023. The panel from DMD also included Divyansh Prasad, Rohan Zaveri, and Trisha Shreyashi.

The opening of the two-day workshop was addressed by Prof. Dr. Ved Kumari, Vice-Chancellor, NLUO and Prof. Dr. Rangin P. Tripathy, Registrar, NLUO.

The Vice-Chancellor spoke of anti-competitive and monopolistic issues, and refinements of MRTP Act and Competition Act, 2009. Prof. Dr. Ved Kumari also underscored the lack of in-flight F&B choices in airlines sector, especially in light of the recent consolidation. She went on to thank Mr. Rohan Javeri, alumnus, NLUO for his support in materializing the workshop and extended a warm welcome to the panelists. The Registrar explained the need for law schools to have a robust alumni engagement and meaningful interaction between law firms and law colleges.

“The first time students meet recruiters shouldn’t be on the day of recruitment”, Prof. Dr. Rangin Tripathy said.

The workshop opens with Vivek Agarwal’s address. He started with career opportunities in the antitrust domain for young law graduates. He explained that competition law is an economic law and offers a broader host of opportunities – advisory, compliance, litigation and policy.

“It is the best of both worlds - litigation and boardroom”, Vivek stated.

He highlighted various options in policy making and research, given the dynamic nature of competition regulations and its ongoing overhaul in India. He discussed how policy organizations also open the doorway to engagement with government bodies and even foreign competition authorities. The CCI offers good training opportunities for young graduates, he says.

The panellists spoke on the need and purpose of competition law, anti-competitive agreements, cartels, abuse of dominance and merger control, new amendments to the Competition Act, regulations and the future for India and digital markets and antitrust enforcement.

The two-day workshop spanned over in three sessions.

The first session provided an overview of the competition law regime in India, horizontal agreements, non-horizontal agreements, abuse of dominance and regulation of combinations.

Vivek Agarwal, Partner (Competition), DMD Advocates, explains how the changing concepts of money and data pushes the need to revamp the law, and provides personal anecdotes and the need to update knowledge and skills.

The second session was remarkably interactive. Enthusiastic participants raised relevant questions as to the feasibility of the green channel, issues around complimentary overlaps, application of competition law to state-regulated markets, statutory bodies and PSUs engaged in economic activities, and power of CCI to review, penalize or intervene.

Vivek Agarwal, Partner (Competition), DMD Advocates, emphasised on the CCI’s agile and consultative approach towards ensuring ease of doing business in India. This included discussions on initiatives like green channel and expedited approval timelines. Bona-fide, no-problem deals have been reaping the benefits of green channel with no additional burden to suspend the deals until CCI’s approval, said Vivek. He mentioned that CCI, however, has the power to look into such green channel combinations if there is any misrepresentation. There is a risk of CCI inquiring into innovative strategies to avoid notification, Vivek Agarwal, Partner (Competition), DMD Advocates added.

The final session revolved around the recent developments to the Indian competition regime, including the amendments to the Competition Act, the commitments and settlement regulations, and revised combination regulations. The last session also entailed an in-depth discussion around the digital markets, big data and the new-age anti-competitive practices of big-tech companies such as self-preferencing, exclusive tie-ups, etc.