SIGNIFICANCE OF COMPETITION LAW IN THE CONTEMPORARY WORLD
In today’s world there is a significant integration of the digital world in our lives. Competition is a situation in the marketplace where different entities attract customers in order to achieve their business objectives. Competition Law is a law which maintains a fair competition in the market which is an instrument to prevent and punish anti competitive practices. The Competition Act, 2002 replaced MRTP Act, 1969 (Monopolistic and Restrictive Trade Practices Act, 1969). Competition Law is of significant importance since the New Economic Policy, 1991.
Competition is a complicated and a technical subject and it does not lend itself to easy summary. This act plays a prominent role in the corporate world. And it can be understood that it is a process whereby the economic enterprises compete with each other to secure customers for their products.
Since the last few years, society has witnessed a massive generation shift, where a lot of technological innovations and advancement is seen. Because of the growth of the digital era the scope of Competition Law has widened. This has acknowledged us to get access to greater understanding of the world we live in. This speedy evolution in technologies have allowed large scale interaction through different media.This transformation has given rise to progressively digitalised economy. Though these technologies advancements make our life better, this comes at a cost which leaves room for anti competitive practices. In today’s world where there is widespread growth in the digital world, because of this there is a rampant growth of new companies, and due to this the competition has also increased exponentially. So it is the need of the hour to maintain a fair competition in the market. In order to maintain this balance in the competition the Competition Act, 2002 plays a crucial role. Some of the prominent objectives of the Competition Act, 2002 are that it prevents all malpractices, it also prevents abuse of dominant position and also ensures freedom of trade to participants in the market.
There are a lot of businesses which get into anti competitive agreements, in other words they form cartels which kills the competition in the market which makes the entry of new companies complicated. Some of the anti competitive agreements are those agreements which control production and supply. And also those agreements which eliminates competition for bids. Even those agreements that directly or indirectly determine the purchase or sale prices.
Competition Law is a very dynamic law which goes through continuous developments in the legal world and because of this the scope of this law is always finding new possibilities. Thus, by protecting the competition in the market, it ensures that all the above forms of anti competitive practices are eliminated.
