Telecom and Digital Economy
Telecom And Digital Economy
A thriving and dynamic telecommunications sector and the success of initiatives like Digital India and the India Stack have contributed to the phenomenal growth of the Digital Economy in India. In keeping with its commitment to promote domestic industry, innovation and competition while ensuring digital sovereignty, consumer safety and national security, the Government has initiated several reforms.
India will soon have a modern, fit-for-purpose legal and regulatory framework for Telecommunications, Digital Personal Data Protection, Digital Competition and a new Digital India Act. Consent manager and Open Network for Digital Commerce will be game changers like Aadhar and UPI.
The emphasis on local manufacturing, secure supply chains, and a focus on Data Governance and Frontier Technologies bode well for the industry and the Indian consumer.
Harnessing new opportunities, navigating these changes and ensuring proactive compliance will require stakeholders to understand and adapt to the new regulatory environment quickly and adeptly.
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An international telecom, digital technology, competition policy and law expert with more than 32 years of experience, Dr Gulati was previously an Indian Civil Services officer (1989 batch) and took voluntary retirement in 2021. As Head of the Combinations (M&A) Division of the Competition Commission of India, she led India's first detailed investigation into a merger. Dr Gulati was instrumental in streamlining, clarifying, and simplifying the Indian merger review regime. Post-retirement, she worked as Senior Adviser on competition law with Trilegal and Head of Public Policy at Google. Currently, she teaches and advises on regulating digital technologies and competition law.
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Her educational qualifications include a BA Honours in Economics from Lady Sri Ram College, Delhi University, an LLM (Telecom & IT law) from the University of Strathclyde, UK, and a PhD. from the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi.
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Dr Gulati's postings in the Government of India include Advisor (Digital Communications) at the National Institute for Transforming India. Before that, as Senior Deputy Director-General in the Department of Telecommunications, she served as Officer on Special Duty (OSD) to the Chairperson of the Telecom Commission of India.
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Dr Gulati has been an expert and resource person for the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) since 2010. She was Co-rapporteur of the ITU-Development sector's Study Group (2018-21) and co-authored the ITU report on Consumer Protection in the Digital Age. She has represented the Asia Pacific Region as Vice-Chair of the ITU Working Group on Finance and Human Resources.
Join Dr Gulati’s Highly Sought After Course on Ex Ante Regulation in Digital Markets
What We Cover
Practice Areas
Competition and Antitrust
Competition law was enacted in India in 2003, though enforcement of section 3 and 4 related to antitrust started only in 2009. Enforcement of sections 5 and 6 related to Combinations began only in 2011.
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Investment
International Investment flows have slowed down due to the pandemic. However, India continues to attract record investment flows. International investment flows are currently not governed by any multilaterally agreed rules.
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International Trade
The World Trade Organisation (WTO) and the multilateral trading system (MTS) has emerged as a major determinant of international economic activity and exchanges.
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