Indian Merger Control: The Tricky Question of Insignificant Local Nexus

In this short article, I discuss the question of insignificant local nexus under Indian merger control law. The [Indian] Competition Act, 2002, and rules framed there-under, empowers the Competition Commission of India to exercise extra-territorial jurisdiction to review foreign-to-foreign transactions which has ‘significant local nexus’ or ‘effects competition’ in India. What amounts to such ‘significant’ local nexus remains unexplained under Indian competition law and this article reviews the limited decisional practice of the Commission to seek answer to that tricky question.