Competition policy key to India’s AI superpower ambition: CCI Member Deepak Anurag at IPBA

Artificial intelligence can accelerate India’s rise as a global economic power, but only if it develops within competitive markets, Competition Commission of India (CCI) Member Deepak Anurag said at a session on the role of AI in a competitive economy and India’s position as a superpower..He said “AI has the potential to accelerate progress, provided it is embedded within the framework of competitive markets.”Anurag was delivering a special address at the Inter-Pacific Bar Association (IPBA) conference session on the role of AI in a competitive economy and India’s position as a superpower.He said “AI is no longer just a subject in research labs. It has become a general-purpose technology being embedded in production, distribution, consumption and decision-making across sectors.”.The session was moderated by Nisha Kaur Uberoi, Partner and Chair of Competition Law at JSA, and featured speakers Matt Takeshi Komatsu, Managing Partner at Mori Hamada Singapore; Manish Gupta, Chief Information Officer at Aditya Birla Group; Shin Jae Kim, Partner at Tozzini Freire Advogados; and Bhavna Verma, Vice President, Strategy at Schneider Electric..He cautioned that the rapid adoption of AI also creates new competition risks.“These factors combined represent new challenges for competition regulator.”.Anurag said the regulator had proactively studied the AI ecosystem to understand emerging competition concerns.“CCI took a proactive step of conducting a market study of artificial intelligence and competition.” He clarified that the study is not meant to impose regulation.“The report is not an enforcement document… it is a diagnostic and exploratory exercise.”The study identified growing use of AI across financial services, healthcare, retail, logistics and marketing, while flagging risks such as concentration, exclusive partnerships and targeted price discrimination.“AI has evolved from being an experimental technology to becoming an integral component of business strategy across diverse markets.” .Linking AI with India’s economic ambitions, Anurag stressed that innovation and competition must go hand in hand.“AI has the potential to accelerate progress… provided it is embedded within the framework of competitive markets.” He emphasised that competition law will play a foundational role in India’s growth story.“Competition policy is not an obstacle to progress. It is an essential condition for sustainable and broad-based development.” .Bhavna Verma of Schneider Electric highlighted the massive energy demands of AI infrastructure and the scale of investment required to support the country’s ambitions.“An AI-powered query can require 10 to 30 times more power than a standard search.”She said India’s data centre capacity is expected to grow sharply in the coming years.Verma said governance frameworks must strike a balance between enabling innovation and managing risks.“We need governance policies that enable, but do not impede, innovation.”.From a global perspective, Mori Hamada’s Matt Takeshi Komatsu said AI is driving cross-border investment, particularly in digital infrastructure and data centres.“We are seeing significant AI-related M&A involving data centres and digital infrastructure globally.”He said policymakers across jurisdictions are still grappling with how best to regulate the technology.“We haven’t found the best approach to regulating AI.It is a delicate balance between regulating AI and promoting the industry.".Industry speakers said the shift to AI is no longer theoretical, with companies already embedding the technology deep into core business functions.Aditya Birla Group CIO Manish Gupta said the conglomerate has moved beyond pilot projects and is scaling AI across its businesses, ranging from manufacturing to retail and legal functions.He revealed that artificial intelligence is now playing a major role in the group’s fashion and retail operations.“More than 50 percent of our clothing is designed by AI.”Gupta said the company is also using AI to optimise supply chains, improve energy efficiency and automate mining operations. In the legal function, he added, AI tools have significantly improved productivity.“In nine years, the time to prepare a case has come down from two days to two hours.”He said such gains underline why India must aggressively adopt AI to remain globally competitive.“We lost the industrial revolution in the past. We cannot miss the AI revolution.”.Shin Jae Kim of Tozzini Freire Advogados said countries must chart their own approach to AI as the technology becomes deeply embedded in everyday life and business.“We are already living in AI.”The panel broadly agreed that a risk-based, light-touch regulatory approach may be necessary to balance innovation, investment and consumer protection as the global race for AI leadership intensifies..Follow Bar and Bench channel on WhatsAppDownload the Bar and Bench Mobile app for instant access to the latest legal news.