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What's the article about?
- It talks about the role of Competition Commission of India (CCI) in ensuring free competition in the digital market.
Relevance:
- GS2: Regulatory Bodies; GS3: Indian Economy; Prelims: CCI
What's the crux of the article?
- The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has imposed a penalty of Rs. 1337.76 Crore on Google under Section 27 of the Competition Act, 2002, for abusing its dominant position in multiple markets in the Android Mobile device ecosystem.
- The Commission has also issued a cease and desist order against Google. The Commission has laid down a slew of measures which Google has to comply with, barring it from indulging in anti-competitive practices
What measures are taken by CCI?
- barred Google from forcing OEMs to pre-install a bouquet of Google applications
- it specified that OEMs must not be restrained to choose from amongst Google's proprietary applications, for pre-installation in the mobile devices
- Google is prohibited from offering any monetary or other incentives to OEMs, or from entering into any arrangement with OEMs, for ensuring exclusivity for its search services
What is meant by dominant market position?
- A firm holds a dominant position if it can operate within the market without taking full account of the reaction of its competitors or final consumers.
- A company which holds a dominant market position has the capability to work independently from its competitors and customers.
- A dominant position can allow a company to set prices above the competitive level for products which are not of as high quality, and in effect it can restrict competition.
What is CCI?
- The Competition Commission of India (CCI) is the chief national competition regulator in India.
- It is a statutory body within the Ministry of Corporate Affairs and is responsible for enforcing the Competition Act, 2002 to promote competition and prevent activities that have an appreciable adverse effect on competition in India.
Way Forward:
- This is a welcome step from the CCI. The CCI must be careful that its actions do not impede innovation. It must protect competition, not any competitor.
