Competition Commission of India (CCI) has made it clear that applicants cannot take a consortium or joint venture route to bid for being engaged as an agency to conduct market study on “Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Competition”.
This is part of a series of clarifications issued on Friday by the competition watchdog as regards its earlier request for proposal (RFP) on the proposed market study. The clarifications have been issued in the wake of queries/ submissions put forth by the prospective bidders.
A pre-bid consultation meeting on the RFP on the proposed market study on artificial intelligence and competition was held on May 6 this year. The prospective bidders were given an opportunity to seek clarifications on the RFP till May 10,2024.
The CCI has now clarified that a minimum annual turnover of ₹50 crore for each of the specified financial years is a must and will be an essential pre-qualification/ eligibility criterion. However, it has now clarified that turnover of group companies may be included to meet the eligibility criterion of ₹50 crore.
In the RFP issued in April 2024, the CCI had for the pre qualification criteria stipulated that the Agency must have a minimum five years of experience and also have a minimum annual turnover of ₹50 crore during each of the three financial years: FY21, FY22 and FY23. Also, the Agency must have completed a minimum of five studies/projects (AI related/tech policy related/competition related/ sectoral studies for policy purposes) in the last three financial years.
LAST DATE FOR BID SUBMISSION
CCI has now extended the last date for submission of bids to June 18 from the earlier set date of June 3. The bids will now be opened on June 19. While the technical presentation will happen on July 4-5, financial bids will be opened on July 11, CCI has now said.
FOREIGN NATIONALS
CCI has now said that foreign national involvement is allowed in the bidders or in the bidding process. “The RFP does not prohibit the involvement of foreign nationals, subject to extant laws as applicable in India”, CCI has said.
AI MARKET STUDY
The objective of the proposed study is to gather insights from all relevant stakeholders, to develop a comprehensive understanding of the evolving landscape of AI and application of AI in markets in India.
The study — which has seven main objectives — is expected to help shape the strategies of the CCI aimed at fostering innovation and fair competition. It will focus on all competition related aspects within the AI ecosystems (including generative AI ecosystem) and the potential impact of application of AI on competition, efficiency and innovation in key user industries.
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AI is a constellation of technologies that enable machines to act with higher levels of intelligence and emulate the human capabilities of sense, comprehend and act. AI is emerging as a new factor of production, augmenting the traditional factors of production viz. labour, capital and innovation and technological changes captured in total factor productivity. The transformative capabilities of AI have significant pro competitive potential, both on the supply and demand side. At the same time, there may be concerns with regard to potential competition risks stemming from the use of AI.
CCI Chairperson Ravneet Kaur had in January this year said that CCI would soon float a tender for conducting a study on the impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on businesses and services. She had also then emphasised that a regulator cannot take a “one size fits all” interventions in technological markets, which required nuanced assessments.