40 Indian Startups Have Come Out Strongly In Support Of Draft Digital Competition Bill

These startups which include prominent names like Matrimony.com, TrulyMadly, Innov8, QuackQuack, Magicbricks, Hoichoi, Medibuddy etc. have written to the Ministry of Corporate Affairs saying that the Bill is a step in the right direction and it will address long-standing concerns of Indian startups to rein in practices which stifle innovation, limit consumer choice, and hinder the growth of young businesses.

While requesting that the government move forward with the Bill at the earliest and not give in delay tactics, the startups have also asked for an upward revision of the thresholds for designating Systematically Significant Digital Enterprises (SSDEs). They have argued that the Bill should only target the real gatekeepers of the internet - firms that have long enjoyed dominant positions, accumulating extensive resources, and influence to shape the rules of the digital ecosystem. By narrowly targeting the new law, the government can rein in monopolistic practices while making sure that Indian startups have the space to grow within India and beyond Indian borders, to compete globally.  

More Context: The Committee on Digital Competition Law (CDCL) published its report (https://shorturl.at/jwBM6) in March this year outlining the challenges associated with anti-competitive practices of digital enterprises such as anti-steering, self-preferencing, tying and bundling in the digital markets in India. The report proposed a Digital Competition Bill providing for ex-ante regulations to curb these anti-competitive practices. The report was open for public consultation and the last date for submission of comments was 15th May 2024.

Start-ups supporting the bill

1. Murugavel Janakiraman, Founder & MD, Matrimony.com

2. Vinay Singhal, Co-Founder & CEO, STAGE 

3. Snehil Khanor - founder and CEO, TrulyMadly

4. Satish Kannan, Co-founder CEO, MediBuddy

5. Anand Virani, Founder and Chairman, Cutting Chai Technologies Pvt. Ltd.

6. Ajay Data, MD - Data Group of Industries, Chair - FICCI Multilingual and UA committee

7. Pawan Agarwal, Dy MD, DB CORP ltd

8. Srinivasan B, Managing Director, Ananda Vikatan Digital Private Limited.

9. Ravi Mittal, Founder and CEO, QuackQuack (Verve Mobile Pvt Ltd)

10. Shruti, Founder, Apnaklub

11. Srinivas Kollipara, Managing Partner, Biome Venture Studio, CEO of T-Hub, Hyderabad

12. Vishnu Moha, Co-founder, Hoichoi

13. Sudhir Pai, CEO, MagicBricks

14. Sriram Subramanya, Managing Director and CEO @ Integra Software Services Private Ltd, Chairman - NASSCOM, National SME Council

15. Ganesh N Mandalam, Founder and CEO, Xerago

16. Ritesh Malik, Founder, Innov8

17. Arokiaswamy Velumani, Founder, Thyrocare Technologies Ltd.