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News18
9 hours ago
- Business
- News18
Foreign Lobbyists Want India To Give Up Digital Competition Bill
India has the opportunity to shape the next decade of global digital regulation as a leader making rules that protect innovators, empower consumers and secure economic sovereignty There is a concerted effort by foreign lobbying organisations to pressure India to abandon its Digital Competition Bill. Lobbying is everywhere in the corridors of power, by think tanks both in India and abroad, industry association that house under the guise of startups but are actually working for foreign companies and even think tanks and policy advocates have been roped into to force the government to give up most of the clauses of the Digital Competition Act. It is essential to understand the importance of this bill, which is expected to level the playing field not only between Indian and foreign digital companies but also enable the Indian manufacturing sector to survive the onslaught of Chinese imports. Digital is taking over the retail sector at a breakneck pace; buyers are moving away from offline to digital, malls in metros are already witnessing a stagnation in rentals or vacancies. The online digital market is expected to touch $325 billion by 2030 according to Deloitte, growing 2.5 times the offline retail market. Real estate consultancy firm ANAROCK is even more bullish, it says that digital retail will touch $550 billion by 2035 in a report titled 'Future of Retail". It estimates the overall online market will jump to $325 billion in 2030 from $70 billion in 2022. However, it will be larger than the organised retail market, which is projected to reach just $230 billion in 2030, doubling from a base of $110 billion in 2022. Organised retail is defined by companies such as Trent and Reliance Trends, which rent malls and sell through them. Lobbyists try to downplay this growth of digital by comparing it not to the organised retail, but to the total retail market, where the unorganised sector is much larger. These lobbyists keep saying that digital is so small that it does not matter. Why are we trying to curb its growth? Online retail is driven by technology, creating jobs that fuel further innovation. Lobbyists representing Big Tech and industry bodies such as the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) and the US-India Business Council (USIBC) have continuously raised objections to the bill and are especially concerned about its ex-ante regulatory approach. Their core argument is that India should avoid adopting an EU-style framework like the Digital Markets Act (DMA), and instead focus on strengthening its existing competition law through better enforcement. However, this opposition ignores India's interest as well as the fact that all these companies are following this very rule in the EU. It is as if they still want to treat India as a third world country where they can bully and beat their way into ignoring everything that is fair. Ex-ante regulation refers to a pre-emptive system of oversight. Rather than waiting for anti-competitive behaviour to occur and then reacting—as is the case with ex-post regulation—ex-ante rules seek to prevent abuses before they can harm consumers or distort markets. The draft Digital Competition Bill (DCB) proposes to classify certain large digital firms as 'Systemically Significant Digital Enterprises" (SSDEs), subjecting them to a set of obligations aimed at preventing monopolistic conduct. These include bans on self-preferencing, the misuse of non-public business data, and mandatory interoperability, along with requirements for transparency and user choice in defaults. Lobbyists write in the Economic Times of July 7, 2025 against the DCB, suggesting that India should avoid emulating Europe's 'stringent rules' and instead focus on building up the enforcement capacity of its existing framework under the Competition Act. They caution that hardwired bans could penalise scale, discourage innovation, and stifle growth. This is the traditional argument given by all Tech monopolists that scale will be affected, the question is whose scale it is the scale of these monopoly platforms that is affected. Who loses the whole economy of the country loses if these rules are not enacted. Jobs are lost, as consolidation of sellers leads to Chinese imports, which harms manufacturing. The loss of jobs in organised and unorganised retail has been well documented. In the long run this leads to the hollowing out of the Indian economy, like it has happened in the US. EU regulators are therefore insisting on controls. Lobbyists even get vague surveys done to show that DCB will harm MSMEs and legacy media publishes without checking the accuracy of the sample size and its impact. If ex-ante regulations are not applied these tech platforms have perfected the system of delaying any impact of regulations. They have been running circles around CCI by filing so many petitions in the court against every decision that no action can be taken against them. The action by CCI almost becomes irrelevant by the time it is implemented through the courts, which in India can take years. Moreover, the fine that is levied is so small and the profits that these platforms generate is so humongous that they are willing to pay the fine and continue doing what they were fined for. Another paper funded by Google and Amazon and written by the think tank Carnegie Endowment has a similar if more detailed take. The paper says that ex-ante regulation is not effective not only due to new rules but because it builds preventive capacity within regulators. This is particularly relevant in digital markets, where network effects and data lock-ins can lead to early entrenchment of power and create 'winner-takes-most" scenarios well before any formal abuse is registered. The central reason why Big Tech and their affiliated lobbyists are pushing back against the Digital Competition Bill lies in how it threatens the core of their business models. Ex-ante rules would curtail their ability to self-preference their services, integrate user data across platforms, and push default settings that steer users toward their own offerings. These practices have been instrumental in consolidating their dominance. While they argue that such regulation would stifle innovation and increase compliance costs, what they are effectively defending is their capacity to extract advantage from scale, integration, and opacity. Below is a snapshot of the main concerns raised by the lobbyists and their implications for competition and consumers in India: What's often left unsaid in the lobbyist submissions is that global giants are already adapting to the DMA in Europe. The opposition to India adopting a similar path has less to do with the principle of regulation and more with maintaining the asymmetry of power in markets like India, where regulatory institutions are weaker and startup ecosystems are still maturing. For Indian digital businesses, especially small and medium-sized enterprises, the current imbalance often manifests in opaque search rankings, exploitative commissions, and arbitrary changes to algorithmic visibility—all of which could be addressed through ex-ante mechanisms. Moreover, the claim that ex-ante rules will deter investment is not supported by global evidence. The DMA has not led to any large-scale disinvestment in Europe; instead, it has encouraged many emerging firms to explore European markets because they now face a more level playing field. For India, a calibrated ex-ante approach could do the same: enhance competition, promote innovation from the bottom up, and ensure that market dominance does not translate into market abuse. The Digital Competition Bill attempts to do exactly that. By identifying SSDEs based on both quantitative and qualitative thresholds, it aims to target those enterprises whose control over user data, platform infrastructure, and market access creates systemic dependencies. What the lobbyists are asking India to do is to delay such a move in favour of a slower, case-by-case model that has already proven inadequate in addressing fast-moving harms. Their appeals to protect innovation and investment are, in effect, appeals to maintain dominance and avoid disruption. India would do well to reject these pleas and proceed with a well-designed ex-ante framework—not as a copy of the EU model, but as a sovereign assertion of its right to define fair competition in its own digital economy. top videos View all India has the opportunity to shape the next decade of global digital regulation—not as a passive recipient of Western frameworks but as a proactive leader crafting rules that protect its innovators, empower its consumers, and secure its economic sovereignty. The Digital Competition Bill, with its ex-ante core, is a step in precisely that direction. K Yatish Rajawat is a public policy researcher and works at the Gurugram-based think tank Centre for Innovation in Public Policy (CIPP). Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18's views. Location : New Delhi, India, India First Published: July 08, 2025, 15:34 IST News opinion Opinion | Foreign Lobbyists Want India To Give Up Digital Competition Bill
India Today
13 hours ago
- Business
- India Today
Sensex ends 375 points lower, Nifty below 25,200; Infosys down 2%
Benchmark stock market indices closed lower on Thursday, weighed down by a fall in IT sector stocks as they offset gains by metal sector S&P BSE Sensex was down by 375.24 points to close at 82,259.24, while the NSE Nifty50 lost 100.60 points to end at 25, Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Limited, said that Indian equity benchmarks ended marginally lower as investors exercised caution amid subdued Q1 earnings announcements, particularly in the technology and banking sectors."Market participants remained sidelined due to elevated valuations of large-cap stocks and FII outflows owing to the uncertainty regarding US-India trade deal; however, any positive developments could amplify market sentiment," he the top gainers, Tata Steel led with a strong rise of 1.62%, followed by Trent which gained 0.68%. Titan climbed 0.45%, while Tata Motors advanced 0.41% and UltraTech Cement rose 0.30%. Tech Mahindra faced the biggest decline, dropping 2.76%. Infosys fell 1.61%, while HCL Technologies went down 1.20%. Eternal lost 0.97% and Larsen & Toubro declined 0.78%.The Nifty Midcap100 fell 0.17% while Nifty Smallcap100 declined 0.12%, but India VIX rose 0.02%.Among the sectoral indices, several showed positive momentum with Nifty IT leading at 1.39%, followed by Nifty Realty at 1.24%, Nifty PSU Bank at 0.79%, Nifty Metal at 0.67%, Nifty Consumer Durables at 0.50%, Nifty Pharma at 0.38%, Nifty FMCG at 0.26%, and Nifty Healthcare at 0.18%.Nifty Private Bank faced the biggest decline at 0.58%, followed by Nifty Financial Services which dropped 0.33%. Nifty Media fell 0.25%, Nifty Oil & Gas declined 0.20%, and Nifty Auto slipped 0.04%."Despite the muted trend, strong domestic liquidity and selective buying in realty and consumption theme stocks helped to limit the downside, keeping the broader market in a range-bound phase. The domestic macro fundamentals, like GDP growth and the stable inflationary trend, remain supportive in the medium to long-term," said Nair.(Disclaimer: The views, opinions, recommendations, and suggestions expressed by experts/brokerages in this article are their own and do not reflect the views of the India Today Group. It is advisable to consult a qualified broker or financial advisor before making any actual investment or trading choices.)- Ends
USA Today
13 hours ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Nebraska linebacker ranked as one of the Big Ten's best
Nebraska football linebacker Marques Watson-Trent was named one of the top-graded linebackers in the Big Ten, according to Pro Football Focus. Trent comes to Nebraska after putting together a productive three years at Georgia Southern. He was the 2024 Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Year and recorded three seasons of 100-plus tackles. The 2024 season was just another instance of his production. He tallied 120 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, four forced fumbles, and one pass breakup. This was similar to his production overall. At Georgia Southern, he recorded 365 tackles, 26 tackles for loss, six sacks, two interceptions, and six forced fumbles. Pro Football Focus had him with an 80.9 grade. This was second to Oregon's Bryce Boettcher. It will be fascinating to see what he will be able to do in the Huskers' defense. There is no doubt that he is an explosive defender and a consistent playmaker. Contact/Follow us @CornhuskersWire on X (formerly Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Nebraska news, notes, and opinions.
News18
21 hours ago
- Business
- News18
Stock Market Updates: Sensex, Nifty Trade Flat; Mid, Smallcap Indices Edge Higher; IT Drags
Last Updated: Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty are expected to open on a flat-to-positive note on Thursday Sensex Today: Indian stock markets opened on a cautious note Thursday as investors weighed June quarter earnings and global signals, including recent comments from former US President Donald Trump on the India-US trade deal. The session is also expected to remain volatile due to the weekly expiry of Nifty50's F&O contracts. At 9:30 AM, the BSE Sensex was up 30 points at 82,665, while the Nifty50 slipped marginally by 3 points to 25,208, indicating a flat start. Among the top gainers on the Sensex were Trent, M&M, Sun Pharma, BEL, Bharti Airtel, Tata Motors, and Titan Company, rising up to 0.6% in early trade. On the flip side, Tech Mahindra, ICICI Bank, Zomato (Eternal), Reliance Industries, HUL, and Adani Ports were among the laggards, falling as much as 1.2%. In the broader market, the Nifty MidCap and Nifty SmallCap indices gained up to 0.4%, reflecting a slightly positive undertone. Sectorally, Nifty IT and Nifty Private Bank indices were trading in the red, albeit off their early lows. Meanwhile, Nifty Realty outperformed, rising 1% in early trade. Global Cues Markets were also unsettled by Trump's contradictory statements regarding Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. While Trump told reporters that he had no immediate plans to remove Powell, he added, 'I don't rule out anything," following earlier reports suggesting the opposite. He further escalated trade tensions by reiterating plans to impose a 25% tariff on Japanese imports, dimming hopes for a near-term US-Japan trade agreement. Asian markets reacted cautiously to these developments. Japan's Nikkei 225 slipped 0.46%, South Korea's Kospi declined 0.79%, and Topix remained flat. Australia's ASX 200 stood out with a 0.54% gain, offering a rare bright spot in the region. Meanwhile, US equity futures edged lower in early Asian trade. S&P 500 futures dropped 0.17%, Nasdaq 100 futures fell 0.18%, and Dow futures were down by nearly 80 points or 0.18%. This comes after a volatile session on Wall Street on Wednesday that ended with modest gains. The S&P 500 rose 0.32% to 6,263.70, the Dow Jones gained 231.49 points (0.53%) to settle at 44,254.78, and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.26%, ending at a record 20,730.49 for the ninth straight session. Looking ahead, investors will closely monitor key data releases including US June retail sales, trade figures, and weekly jobless claims for the period ended July 12. In the Eurozone, focus will be on June inflation and core inflation data, which are expected to provide further direction to the global risk appetite. view comments First Published: July 17, 2025, 09:13 IST Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
India.com
2 days ago
- Business
- India.com
Good news for Noel Tata, this company shares rises as Canada's Lululemon picks Tata's…, for debut in…
Shares of Tata Group's retail arm Trent Ltd gained over 1% on July 16, it is a second consecutive session of gains. Canadian athleisure brand Lululemon announced its entry into the Indian market through a partnership with Tata CLiQ. Trent was among the top performers on the Nifty index. Lululemon Partners With Tata CLiQ Lululemon will launch its first physical store in India in the second half of 2026 with the help of Tata CLiQ Luxury and Tata CLiQ Fashion for its online presence. The brand will offer its range of high-performance apparel, footwear, and accessories for different activities like yoga, running, training, tennis, and golf. Tata CLiQ, part of Trent's growing digital commerce platform, currently offers more than 4,000 fashion brands and over 15 lakh product styles. It operates under Westside which is Trent's flagship retail brand. The collaboration is announced after rising traction in Trent's online business. According to HDFC Securities, e-commerce contributed 6% to Westside's revenues, with volume growth of 41% in FY25. Trent Q1 Results In its Q1 update, Trent reported a 20% year-on-year revenue growth, lower than its five-year CAGR of 35%. However, Bernstein maintained its outperform rating, stating that the long-term growth story remains strong for the company and the recent quarterly growth should not be seen as a new benchmark. As of 10:00 am, Trent shares were trading at Rs 5,430, up 0.7% from the previous close on the NSE. But at 3.30 PM during market closure Trent Shares went down to Rs 5382. Despite the recent uptick, the stock is still down 25% year-to-date.
