Draft Digital Competition Act to be ready soon, law may be tabled in parliament by year end

Sources have said that the committee is considering a criterion to identify gatekeepers in digital markets. Gatekeepers would mean big tech companies, including e-commerce, food delivery platforms, cab aggregators and search engines capable of distorting the competition in the market. The committee is likely to recommend a criterion based on the number of active users and global turnover to identify these gatekeepers.

The committee is likely to recommend ten obligations that the identified gatekeepers would have to meet. These include obligations on interoperability between platforms, anti-steering, portability and data usage.

"The committee is of the view that no data collected should be used by a big tech company to eliminate competition and the newer entrants," said a source requesting anonymity.

The committee is considering recommending a penalty amounting to 10% of the global turnover of a big tech company, in case it fails to meet obligations under the digital competition law.

Experts believe a digital competition law could have far-reaching consequences for big tech players operating in India's digital markets. Among the objectives, the committee is considering how such a law will benefit Indian startups and give them a level playing field.