India: Cartels, Monopolies

The Competition Commission of India closed proceedings against the All India Organisation of Chemist & Druggist, pharmaceutical manufacturers' associations, and 22 pharmaceutical companies, rejecting allegations that they colluded to control stockist appointments and new drug launches through mandatory Letters of Cooperation and Product Information Service charges.

Cartels remain the most serious form of anti-competitive conduct under competition law. By coordinating prices, restricting output, rigging bids, allocating customers, or dividing territories, cartel participants replace competitive market forces with collusion, causing significant harm to consumers, businesses, and the economy. Such arrangements typically operate in secrecy, making detection one of the most challenging aspects of competition law enforcement worldwide.

India implemented substantive provisions relating to anticompetitive agreements and abuse of dominance in 2009 and merger control/ combination regulations in 2011.