Which digital companies should India regulate, and how should it decide which services fall under the law? These are among the questions the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) wants answered before finalising its proposed Digital Competition Bill (DCB). According to the market study request for proposal (RFP) viewed by MediaNama via RTI, the government wants an assessment of the thresholds used to identify large digital enterprises, whether the Bill should cover more or fewer digital services, and how the proposed rules could affect competition, market entry, and smaller businesses. The study must also examine international regulatory approaches and ways to balance competition with innovation.
The MCA’s RTI reply, dated October 9, 2026, included the RFP, its agreement with the research agency, and two office memoranda containing replies to a parliamentary standing committee. However, the Ministry did not provide the information sought in two questions about the study’s progress and timeline, saying that “no information is available with Competition Section.”
Status of the DCB: The MCA published the draft DCB in March 2024. The Ministry invited public comments between March 12 and April 15, 2024. The draft proposed an ex-ante framework: instead of acting only after anti-competitive conduct occurs, regulators would impose obligations in advance on designated Systemically Significant Digital Enterprises (SSDEs).
The Standing Committee on Finance’s Thirty-Seventh Report, presented in August 2026, urged the government to finalise the Bill and expand its scope to include virtual assistants and cloud services.
What thresholds should determine which companies are regulated? The RFP asks the agency to assess whether the proposed qualitative and quantitative thresholds under Clause 3 of the draft Bill are effective and what revisions might be needed to identify SSDEs in the current market.
It further asks the agency to estimate how many companies would fall within the Bill if the thresholds were revised. It also seeks an assessment of how the framework could affect major technology companies and change market dynamics. The agency may recommend alternative or supplementary metrics, drawing on international experiences and case studies.
These questions follow concerns raised during the Bill’s earlier consultation that the proposed thresholds could capture Indian companies too early. The parliamentary committee also recommended refining the thresholds and designation process to prevent fast-growing domestic companies from being inadvertently covered. It raised the possibility of a mechanism allowing companies to contest their designation in exceptional cases.
The MCA’s Office Memorandum dated November 17, 2025, said that “empirical evidence through market studies/ impact assessments” was considered appropriate to understand the effects of ex-ante regulation. The 2025 memo identified financial and user thresholds for SSDEs as one of two priority areas for examination. It did not specify what thresholds the government would eventually adopt.
Could the list of core digital services change? The draft Bill proposes nine Core Digital Services (CDS) in Schedule I. The RFP explicitly asks whether this list is sufficient or whether the scope should be adjusted to include more or fewer services.
The agency must examine the current state and dynamics of the covered sectors, identify their key market players, and assess competitive conditions and market trends. It must also study the scope, market shares, and growth trends of these services, along with the challenges their providers face.
The inquiry goes beyond deciding which services qualify. The agency must evaluate how the Bill could affect the services and their stakeholders, particularly competition and market entry. Its findings are meant to help establish whether the proposed list reflects market conditions and whether other services should come within the framework.
The question is relevant following the parliamentary committee’s August 2026 recommendation to expand the proposed Bill to virtual assistants and cloud services. The RFP does not direct the agency to include those services; instead, it leaves the issue open by asking whether the existing list should be expanded or narrowed.
Competition, market entry, and the impact on smaller firms: One of the RFP’s four headline objectives is to assess the proposed framework’s impact on “smaller players including start-ups & MSME’s”. This requires the agency to examine the consequences of the draft Bill for businesses beyond the largest technology platforms.
Its wider inquiry asks how the proposed rules could affect competition and market entry across the covered services and what changes could be expected in market dynamics. The agency must also consider how India could foster competition while continuing to promote innovation and regulate the dominance of large digital players.
The MCA’s Office Memorandum dated January 21, 2026, gave a broader account of the government’s intended approach in a revised reply to the Standing Committee on Finance. The 2026 memo said the study would inform a “balanced, proportionate, and forward-looking digital competition framework”. It identified challenges involving “market power, structural dominance, interoperability, and fairness in digital markets”.
At the same time, the government said the assessment would remain sensitive to “concerns regarding innovation, compliance costs for Indian tech companies and MSMEs, and the current capacity of the CCI”. The 2026 memo said the committee’s recommendations would be taken forward while finalising the draft framework. It did not specify particular changes to the Bill’s obligations or thresholds.
International frameworks and possible alternatives: The RFP also requires the agency to compare the legal and regulatory frameworks governing digital markets in India and other major jurisdictions. It asks what international best practices could inform how India identifies SSDEs.
The agency must consider how to promote a competitive digital environment without undermining innovation or the ability of large digital players to operate. It must also examine what measures could address major technology companies’ concerns while maintaining a level playing field across the digital ecosystem.
These questions give the study scope to examine alternative approaches rather than simply validate the existing draft. However, the RFP does not prescribe a preferred international model or require India to replicate any particular jurisdiction’s rules.
Who is conducting the study, and when will it finish? The MCA signed an agreement with the Management Development Institute Society (MDI), Gurugram, on May 18, 2026, for Rs 1.19 crore. The agreement requires a mix of primary and secondary research, including a literature review, stakeholder consultations, data analysis, an interim report, and a final report.
The RFP identifies major technology firms and e-commerce platforms, think tanks, domestic and foreign digital enterprises, start-ups, MSMEs, civil society organisations, competition-law experts, and industry associations as stakeholders. It specifies a sample including at least 30 major technology firms, 30 start-ups, researchers, domestic firms or MSMEs, and five firms supplying Core Digital Services.
The RFP sets an initial deadline of six weeks from the contract award for the literature review and secondary research, 12 weeks for stakeholder and expert consultations, and six weeks after consultations for the interim report. The final report is due within two weeks of the MCA communicating its suggestions.
On August 3, 2026, the government told Parliament, in reply to an unstarred question, that MDI had submitted its literature review and secondary research and had started consultations. Although the final report was expected in October, the RTI reply did not confirm whether MDI had submitted it or whether the timeline had changed.
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