Events
Roundtable: Role of privacy-enhancing technologies (PETs) in India’s digital economy
Date: December 2024
Venue: IIC, New Delhi
Description: We hosted a closed-door roundtable on the role of privacy-enhancing technologies (PETs) in India’s digital economy at the India International Centre, New Delhi. Our event brought together a diverse group of stakeholders from government, industry, and civil society to discuss the opportunities and challenges posed by PETs, in light of the focus on privacy-by-design under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023.
Workshop on Emerging Technologies and Gaming
Date: December 2024
Venue: New Delhi
Description: We conducted a capacity-building session on emerging technologies and gaming for 15 esteemed Members of Parliament in collaboration with Politics For Impact. Our Director, Meghna Bal, and Fellow, Mohit Chawdhry, laid the foundation with presentations on how emerging technologies can drive India’s digital future, with the online gaming sector a powerful case study. The session featured a panel discussion moderated by our Advisor, Vivan Sharan, and brought together eminent experts Gopal Jain, Rakesh Maheshwari, Rameesh Kailasam and Sandeep Aurora, who delved into the opportunities, challenges and the role of policy in unlocking India’s potential in emerging technologies and use cases like gaming.
Roundtable: Platform Accountability and the Diffusion of Harm Online
Date: November 2024
Venue: Constitution Club, New Delhi
Description: A closed-door roundtable discussion on online trust and safety was held at the Constitution Club of India in November 2024. The event convened an esteemed group of lawyers, academics, and policy professionals to discuss key challenges in regulating online harms. It centred around our paper titled “Platform Accountability and the Diffusion of Harm Online.”
Roundtable: Evaluating the Progress of India's Draft Digital Competition Bill 2024
Date: July 2024
Venue: India Habitat Centre, New Delhi
Description: A closed-door roundtable discussion titled "Taking Stock: Evaluating the Progress of India's Draft Digital Competition Bill 2024" was held at IHC in New Delhi. The roundtable discussion explored where we are procedurally in the context of the Digital Competition Bill, and unpacked key aspects of the proposed Bill, including the thresholds for designating SSDEs, the impact of SSDE obligations on consumer welfare, and the potential unintended consequences of such legislation. The speakers on the panel were: Hon'ble Justice Hima Kohli, Shri. Manoj Govil (Secretary, Ministry of Corporate Affairs), Smt. Ranveet Kaur (Chairperson, CCI), Shri. Niranjan Reddy (Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha), Shri. Rohit Kumar Singh (Former Secretary, Ministry of Consumer Affairs).
Report Launch: New Age Digital Consumption in India
Date: August 2023
Venue: Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad
Description: The event was to launch a report on ‘New Age Digital Consumption’ authored by Professor Rajat Sharma, Associate Professor of Marketing, IIM Ahmedabad and Dr Vikash Gautam, Adjunct Fellow at Esya Centre. Key findings from the study were discussed, which were a first of its kind deep dive into three analogous yet distinct digital market verticals: social media, OTT content, and online gaming services.
Esya Centre - Communeeti Conclave on Emerging Technology
Date: July 2023
Venue: India International Centre, New Delhi
Description: Governance of emerging technologies requires a balance between market and consumer interests, between innovation and user protection. Such agility and precision in governance requires empirical underpinnings. The inaugural ‘Esya Centre - Communeeti Conclave on Emerging Technology’ was a multi-stakeholder initiative to bring together academics and practitioners, to help build specialised knowledge to serve this objective. The event also included an overview of the ‘SAFER Standards’, voluntary standards aimed at enhancing consumer trust and safety in marketplaces for Non-Fungible Tokens in India.
Roundtable: Pricing the Pipeline: Exploring the Impact of Network Usage Fees
Date: July 2023
Venue: The Oberoi, New Delhi
Description: The potential implementation of a network usage fee (NUF) in India presents a seismic change to the working of the internet and actors transacting on it. It is, therefore, necessary for stakeholders to deliberate the possible outcomes a NUF will yield and what it will mean for consumers and digital businesses. The Esya Centre and the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) convened a closed-door multi-stakeholder roundtable to garner both domestic and international perspectives on the subject.
Roundtable: Analysing the draft Telecommunications Bill 2022
Date: October 2022
Venue: India Habitat Centre, New Delhi
Description: The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) recently released the draft Indian Telecommunications Bill 2022, replacing the age-old Indian Telegraph Act of 1885. The draft Bill explicitly expands the concept of telecom service. OTT services have been included in the telecom services. This could create the basis for a potential licensing and regulatory regime with a much wider scope than before. Second, the Bill deals with licensing and registration. As OTT platforms have been covered under telecom services, they may also have to seek licenses to operate in India. Third, the draft Bill provides for messages or communication over telecommunication services to be intercepted in case of a public emergency. Fourth, the Bill covers issues related to simplifying the process of spectrum allocation and proposes a new regime on the right of way for networks and infrastructure. Fifth, it also establishes a Telecommunication Development Fund to boost connectivity services in underserved areas. Sixth, the draft Bill has introduced ease in merger control and insolvency norms in the telecom sector. In this context, the Esya Centre and NASSCOM organized a two-hour roundtable to discuss and analyse the draft Bill.
Roundtable: Competition in Media Markets
Date: August 2022
Venue: India International Centre, New Delhi
Description: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) released a consultation paper that considered the issues of concentration in media ownership. Indian media is going through churn with the entry of digital content creators, unprecedented rates of piracy, and questions regarding the relevance of legacy business models. On the one hand, the efficiencies from market consolidation can drive increased production of content and help legacy media industries remain relevant in the face of increased economic constraints. However, larger firms may engage in practices that may have adverse effects on coemption. In this context, the Esya Centre and the Internet Internet Freedom Foundation organized a two-hour roundtable to discuss competition in media markets.
Roundtable: Towards a Strategic Roadmap on Competition Issues in Data Markets
Date: June 2022
Venue: The Leela Ambience, Gurgaon
Description: Competition in data markets is emerging as the inflection point of antitrust all over the world. A fear of market concentration coupled with the growing importance of data to global growth is prompting competition regulators to train their sights on technology companies. However, there are limited emerging market perspective/conversation on this issue. In this context, the Esya Centre and the Observer Research Foundation (ORF) jointly organized a two-day roundtable to discuss the issue. Participants included policy experts, academics, and industry leaders among others.
Media: Few days following the roundtable, we interviewed some of the participants on the topic: Competition in Digital Markets. You can watch these interviews on our YouTube channel here.
Roundtable: Competition and Privacy: Conflict, Intersection or Harmony?
Date: October 2021
Venue: Online
Description: To better understand the intersection of competition and privacy in digital economies, the Esya Centre with O.P. Jindal Global University (JGU) and the Jindal Digest for Competition and Innovation Laws, convened an online roundtable on the topic, “Competition and Privacy: Conflict, Intersection or Harmony?” The speakers on the panel included: Mansi Kedia, Fellow, Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations; Gregor Langus, Director, E. Ca Economics GmbH; Dinoo Muthappa, Managing Associate, TT&A; and Rahul Rai, Competition Lawyer.
Media: Video recording of the entire one and a half hours long session on YouTube.
Roundtable: First Principles for the Governance of Competition in Digital Markets
Date: August 2021
Venue: Online
Description: The Esya Centre with O.P. Jindal Global University (JGU) and the Jindal Digest for Competition and Innovation Laws convened an online roundtable on the topic, 'First Principles for the Governance of Competition in Digital Markets'. The two-hour session served as a bridge between legal, economic, and industry professionals to discover governance first-principles that best serve India’s interests. The session was chaired by Justice A.K. Sikri, former Justice of the Supreme Court of India, and participants included top academics, jurists and industry professionals.
Media: Video recording of the entire two-hour session on YouTube
Roundtable: COVID-19 and India’s Media & Entertainment Sector
Date: April 2020
Venue: Observer Research Foundation, New Delhi
Description: In April 2020, the Observer Research Foundation and the Esya Centre organised a roundtable to identify the Media & Entertainment sector’s challenges, emergent trends, and potential pathways to recovery. The discussion was framed using the triad of (a) policy and regulatory environment; (b) future of work and of production; and (c) the imperative of value preservation, with a focus on achieving consensus on remedial action. The key government ministries and regulators that were discussed included the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, which plays a central role in the M&E sector.
Panel Discussion: ‘Wonked!: India in Search of an Economic Ideology’
Date: February 2020
Venue: The Oberoi Hotel, New Delhi
Description: The Esya Centre, in collaboration with the Observer Research Foundation (ORF) and Bloomsbury Publishing, hosted a discussion on the book, “Wonked!: India in Search of an Economic Ideology” with its author, Mr. Vivan Saran. The panelists included, Dr Samir Saran, President, ORF; Dr. Ajay Shah, Professor, National Institute of Public Finance and Policy; Gaurav Dalmia, Chairman, Dalmia Group Holdings; and Yamini Aiyar, President, Centre for Policy Research.
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WORKSHOP: A New Consumer for THE New Economy
Date: February 2020
Venue: Delhi Management Association, New Delhi
Description: The Esya Centre, in collaboration with Indicc Associates, conducted an inaugural workshop to its planned series on the “A New Consumer for the New Economy.” The objective of the half-day workshop was to lay out the vision and aims of the series for consumer groups and individuals, with a focus on broadcasting in light of regulatory changes over the past year.
Roundtable with a Delegation from Intellisia Institute, China
Date: January 2020
Venue: India International Centre, New Delhi
Description: Esya hosted a delegation from the Intellisia Institute, China for a roundtable discussion anchored around Mr. Vivan Sharan’s recently launched book, “Wonked! India in search of an Economic Ideology”. The author broke down the challenges facing the Indian economy today, while developing a framework through which broad policy strategies can be laid down based on principles acceptable to multiple stakeholders. At the same time, the Chinese delegation discussed Chinese economic priorities in relation to India.
ROUNDTABLE: Copyright Infringement and Enforcement in India
Date: December 2019
Venue: Delhi Management Association, New Delhi
Description: Esya organized a roundtable on Copyright Infringement and Enforcement in India. The session was chaired by Mr. G.R. Raghavender, Joint Secretary, Department of Justice. In this session, Esya also presented its monograph on 'Trends in Copyright Infringement and Enforcement'. This latest Esya monograph explores contemporary economic, legal, and technological trends in digital copyright infringement and enforcement, with a special focus on the film and music industry in India. It also explores a future where such infringement may be reduced through technology.
Roundtable: reimagining radio broadcasting
Date: October 2019
Venue: India International Centre, New Delhi
Description: Esya, in collaboration with the Indian Music Industry, organised a roundtable discussion on radio broadcasting. The Roundtable was organised to discuss regulatory issues that hamper the growth of India’s radio industry. Among others, participants included Dr. Mark Schultz, Goodyear Tyre and Rubber Company Endowed Chair in Intellectual Property Law and Director, Intellectual Property and Technology Law Program, University of Akron School of Law.
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Discussion on THE EMERGING CHINESE TECHNOLOGY ECOSYSTEM IN INDIA: INNOVATION, COMPETITION AND GOVERNANCE
Date: August 2019
Venue: The Oberoi, New Delhi
Description: A closed-door discussion amongst select stakeholders was held on the various aspects of India-China trade. The participants aimed to deconstruct the specific impact of Chinese digital products and platforms in India from the lens of innovation, competition and governance. The keynote was delivered by Ambassador Shyam Saran (former Foreign Secretary) and the concluding remarks were made by Dr. Sameer Saran (President, Observer Research Foundation).
PANEL DISCUSSION on SPECIALISATION VS. SCALE: WHAT WORKS FOR INDIAN M&E?
Date: March 2019
Venue: Grand Hyatt, Mumbai
Description: The panel discussion organized as part of FICCI Frames 2019 debated how stakeholders in the Indian creative economy, including those within civil society and government, should balance these imperatives. The session also witnessed the pre-launch of Esya’s first monograph titled, “Contemporary Culture and IP: Establishing the Conceptual Framework” with one of the authors, Shohini Sengupta, sharing her views as a panellist. Other panellists included Arun Thapar (Head of Content, A+E Networks), Shreyas Srinivasan (Founder and CEO, Insider.in), Dinraj Shetty (Director, Sony Music Entertainment), and Karan Ahluwalia (Senior President and Country Head, M&E, Fine Arts, Luxury and Sports Banking Group, Yes Bank).