CCI enquiring into fintech entities
“Casting aspersions are unwarranted,” Randhir Jaiswal, a spokesman for the ministry of external affairs, said in the statement. “States are expected to be respectful of the sovereignty and internal affairs of the others.”
The US embassy didn’t immediately respond to requests for further information. India’s external affairs ministry also didn’t respond to an email seeking details on the summoning of the US diplomat.
Kejriwal was arrested last week by India’s antimoney laundering agency, the Enforcement Directorate (ED), in relation to a bribery case, prompting a backlash from opposition parties accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government of using federal agencies to target them. The case pertains to alleged corruption and money laundering in formulating and executing the Delhi government’s excise policy for 2021-22 that was later scrapped.
The arrest came just weeks before India holds elections. Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party governs Delhi and Punjab.
India recently raised similar objections after German officials commented about Kejriwal’s arrest. In a 23 March statement from the ministry of external affairs, it said Germany’s deputy chief of mission was summoned to a meeting to register New
Delhi’s disapproval.
A German foreign ministry spokesperson had “taken note” of Kejriwal’s arrest. “We see such remarks as interfering in our judicial process and undermining the independence of our judiciary,” the external affairs ministry had said.
Fair trade watchdog CCI (Competition Commission of India) is conducting enquiries against some fintech entities to check whether their ways of leveraging technologies are impacting competition, its chief Ravneet Kaur said and asserted that the regulator is taking necessary action to ensure a competitive digital market. With a slew of amended regulations, key rulings against anticompetitive practices in the digital market and advocacy efforts, the CCI is strengthening its efforts to curb unfair business ways.
In an interview to Kaur said there is an increased sensitisation among entities about the competition law and stressed the focus is on “striking the right balance between regulation and freedom”. According to her, the regulator is focused on big tech companies as well as various other sectors, including fintech and online intermediary service providers.
Kejriwal was arrested last week by the Enforcement Directorate, in relation to a bribery case, prompting a backlash from opposition