- Big news that will determine the direction of India's digital future!
- In the age of AI, flexible frameworks are needed instead of rigid rules
- Clear opinion expressed by experts
India's Digital Economy: As India moves rapidly towards building a globally competitive digital economy, the key policy issue of how to keep markets open and competitive without stifling the growth of innovation, investment and startups was debated at The Dialogue's 4th Annual International Conference. (India Digital Economy)
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Based on the theme “Competition, Innovation and Growth: Building India's Digital Economy”, the conference highlighted the three key challenges of increasing the digital reach of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), enabling India's AI ecosystem globally and designing a balanced competition strategy against the backdrop of global economic equations.
Better able to drive innovation
Speaking at the conference, Assistant Professor of IE Law School and Senior Scholar of ICLE Dr. Lazar Radic explained that a flexible competition framework based on the merits of each case is better able to protect consumers and promote innovation, rather than imposing strict 'ex-ante' rules already in digital markets.
Strategically a better way
Shankar A., President of Competer Group. Singham noted that pre-set regulations increase compliance costs for small firms, so developing economies should prioritize a framework that allows businesses to compete and invest freely. Alyssa Ramundo, founder of Scope Global Exchange, said that the true value of technology lies in its actual adoption and widespread use, and taking full advantage of existing capabilities is a better strategic approach.
It is possible to solve the problem of competition
Kazim Rizvi, Founder Director of The Dialogue highlighted the need for an evidence-based and forward-looking digital competition framework for India. Stating that the emergence of generative AI is changing market boundaries, he said that instead of introducing a new strict ex-ante regime, priority should be given to strengthening the enforcement capacity of the Competition Commission of India, creating specialized expertise under the Digital Markets Division and improving the efficiency of the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal. This will help address competition issues without stifling startups and investment.
A great alternative to proprietary options
The conference also featured a discussion on the findings of The Dialogue's study “Competition, Innovation, and Market Structure in India's AI Ecosystem” released in early 2026. According to this study, 85% of AI developers in India rely on public cloud and 74.5% of developers have access to adequate compute providers. Also 96.2% of developers use open-source tools and more than 79% of developers consider open-source models to be better alternatives to proprietary alternatives.
Positive results from the use of AI
On the demand side, 85% of businesses cited a positive impact from the use of AI, with 61% citing better decision-making and 55% citing faster service delivery. 74% of consumers agree that AI has improved their experience in digital services. These findings make it clear that India's competition policy should actively support innovation, skill development and widespread use of AI rather than imposing strict restrictions.
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