Competition law and sustainable market design: regulating dominant positions to preserve competitive viability in India's telecom and aviation sectors

Purpose This study critically evaluates existing legislations to examine its scope and limitations regarding the sustainability of market design (MD) and effective regulation of abuse of dominant position (ADP) to protect consumer sovereignty in India. It aims to identify principal factors causing gradual shrinkage of the Indian telecommunications and aviation sectors and to examine the role of concerned market regulators from legal and policy design perspectives to identify mechanisms adopted to keep competitiveness viable which is a quid pro quo for economic development and consumer-welfare. The methodology is doctrinal, qualitative and analytical. Design/methodology/approach This study adopts a doctrinal legal research design employing qualitative analysis through the interpretation of provisions, regulatory instruments, judicial decisions, official market studies, policy documents and authoritative secondary literature and therefore does not seek to establish statistically validated causal relationships between regulatory intervention and market concentration. The qualitative nature of the study lies in the interpretative examination of legal and institutional frameworks rather than empirical qualitative methods such as interviews, surveys or thematic coding. Therefore, the original contribution is analytical and inferential. Findings consequently identify patterns, regulatory gaps and legally relevant relationships that may contribute to understanding competitive outcomes, without claiming that regulatory failure is the definitive cause of market concentration. It is to be clarified that telecom- and aviation-related data are used as sectoral illustrations and documentary bases for concentration analysis rather than as statistically representative empirical case studies. The Competition Commission of India’s (CCI's) 2009 aviation sector market study is referred to here only as a historical benchmark rather than as evidence of current market structure. Since the core objective of this study is to evaluate whether legislative objectives underlying the Competition Act, 2002 (CA) have been effectively realised over time, it is methodologically necessary to establish competitive conditions prevailing during the initial years of India's competition regime. The subsequent analysis therefore compares this historical benchmark with recent market statistics, regulatory reports and contemporary literature to examine the evolution of market concentration and institutional effectiveness. Justification for Cross-Sectoral Examination of Competition Issues: Telecom sector depends on extensive network and infrastructure, while the aviation sector is characterised by intense capital requirements and heavy infrastructure. However, there are many common characteristics from the competition issues, particularly, in terms of structural and economic characteristics. For examples; high capital intensity, limited number of market participants, large consumer bases, network-based industries, economies of scale, infrastructure-dependent operations, strategic importance to national development, strong potential for market consolidation and substantial consumer welfare impact, etc. are common in both sectors and therefore this study focuses on these sectors. Another reason for the selection of these sectors is the recent ostensible duopoly/monopoly of enterprises, exorbitant price or tariff hikes and cartelisation-like situations in both services areas. Therefore; this discussion is underpinned by the current market share of corporations and the factual details behind their emergence. Accordingly, the central focus of this study is not judicial cases but rather the correlated happenings and the role of the authorities in shaping the current telecom and aviation market design in India. Findings The study finds that Indian laws provide a strong framework that is highly efficient in prohibiting ADP and capable of maintaining competitive viability while keeping MD intact. However, it seems that authorities have somewhat failed to operationalise legal policy and frameworks effectively have been unable to forecast adverse effects i a timely manner, and have not developed collaborative mechanisms to prevent current market concentration. Research limitations/implications The study’s core discussion is mainly focused on the said sectors and its legal perspective is limited to the Indian jurisdiction. Its results may be used as a case study for similar sectoral studies. Practical implications The study contributes to the legal interpretation of the concept of ADP from competition sustainability and viability perspectives. This implication helps in interpreting the CA in light of dynamic and sustainability-based competition goals. The study highlights key common characteristics of the said sectors. It also contributes to policy reforms and institutional coordination. Social implications The research strongly highlights consumer welfare aspects, namely, fair pricing, service quality and convenient service accessibility, etc. It focuses on how dominance in network- and infrastructure-based industries may lead to monopoly/duopoly, the antithesis of competitive viability. The Indian Constitution envisages economic policies to discourage concentration of wealth. Therefore, this study highlights how enterprise dominance poses a potential risk of economic inequality. Originality/value The study is original in the sense that prior research acknowledges concerns relating to market concentration, but there has been limited scholarly engagement with recent consolidation trends since 2020. Its originality lies in its challenge to the prevailing assumption that concentration of a sectoral market necessarily reflects inadequacies in legal policy/frameworks. However, it demonstrates through an analysis of publicly available market statistics, regulatory reports and legal materials, that the existing competition law (CL) framework is well designed to address anti-competitive practices (ACPs) Nevertheless, scholarly studies/professional-experts indicate a noticeable deterioration in competitive viability (CV) in the said sectors during this period which is not a normal market responses based on supply/demand theory. Therefore, this study argues that the major hindrance is not legislative insufficiency but shortcomings in regulatory enforcement, coordination and timely implementation of existing law. This enforcement gap has contributed to the weakening of competition sustainability posing challenges to the preservation of efficient/sustainable MD.