Avaantika Kakkar

Practice Areas

Avaantika Kakkar

Partner (Head - Competition Law) Competition/Antitrust

Avaantika is a highly experienced antitrust advisor in India. She advises on complex merger notifications and represents her clients before the Commission, the Appellate Tribunal, and Courts.

She was lead lawyer in the first Phase II merger control case in India (Sun Pharma/Ranbaxy) and in the first few cases involving remedies (Hospira/Orchid, ZF Friedrichshafen AG/TRW Automotive) at the CCI. She argued mitigated damages for Titan International, Inc. and secured a zero-penalty order for Grupo Isolux Corsán for delayed merger filings.

Her practice includes strategic advice for her clients in merger defence and enforcement as well as leading third-party objections to certain mergers before the CCI.

Her experience in Indian corporate and securities laws, transactional work in M&A, private equity, joint ventures, and structured finance equips her uniquely for strategy on merger regulation. She was among the first Indian lawyers to start practicing Indian Competition law in 2009, when the law came into effect.

On the enforcement side, Avaantika advises on commercial arrangements, vertical restraints including resale price maintenance, and the abuse of dominance. Her team works extensively on internal investigations and compliance. She was involved with filing the first few leniency applications in India and has vast experience assisting clients during ‘dawn’ raids by the CCI. Her team leads defence on major cartels in India including the beer cartel and the cement cartel investigations.

She has experience in the infrastructure, pharma, auto & auto-parts, financial services, chemicals, media, technology, telecommunication, distribution, agriculture – commodities, petroleum & natural gas sectors.

Avaantika is a regular speaker at seminars, training institutes, and law schools. She spoke on Global Damages Litigation at the ABA Spring Meeting, 2016; at the USIBC Legal Services West Coast Conference in San Francisco in (2012), she presented developments on anti-corruption laws in India; and was a panellist for the USIBC forum entitled 'One Year Later: A Look at the Investment Attitudes in India Post-Elections', Washington DC (2015).

She spoke at the Northwestern University School of Law's Chicago Forum (2013 and 2016) and at the Chatham House Conference on Competition Policy (2019).

Avaantika was a member of one of the working groups set up by the Competition Law Review Committee established by the Government of India to review the Indian competition law regime. Avaantika has also authored a book titled A Perspective on Product Liability Law and Consumer Safety (2006) and is a published novelist. She recently led the submissions of FICCI (Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry) before the Joint Parliamentary Committee reviewing the proposed amendments to the Competition Act, 2002. She was also a FICCI representative before the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) for the Digital Competition Bill.

She has authored a book titled, ‘A Perspective on Product Liability Law and Consumer Safety’ (2006) (ISBN: 81-8159-054-6). She was appointed on a working group set up by the Competition Law Review Committee. She works closely with the regulator as a non-government advisor. She recently led the submissions of FICCI (Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry) before the Joint Parliamentary Committee reviewing the proposed amendments to the Competition Act, 2002. She is part of the IBA’s Unilateral Action Working Group.

Professional Memberships

Bar Council of Maharashtra and Goa, India

Publications

• India: Merger Control 2022- The Asia Pacific Antitrust Review - Global Competition Review

• COVID -19 and Competition Law Concerns- COVID -19 and Competition Law Concerns | Competition Law (cyrilamarchandblogs.com)

• India must be the new champion of globalisation- https://www.livemint.com/opinion/online-views/lets-reimagine-globalization-for-india-to-play-the-asian-champion-11657040583371.html

• Update on Indian Merger Control Regime: The Small Target Exemption and pitfalls around jurisdictional thresholds for merger filings before the CCI- Update on Indian Merger Control Regime: The Small Target Exemption and pitfalls around jurisdictional thresholds for merger filings before the CCI | Competition Law (cyrilamarchandblogs.com)

• 10 years of merger control in India- Article-10-years-of-merger-control-in-India.pdf (cyrilshroff.com)

• India: Abuse of Dominance- The Asia Pacific Antitrust Review - Global Competition Review

• India must be the new champion of globalisation- https://www.livemint.com/opinion/online-views/lets-reimagine-globalization-for-india-to-play-the-asian-champion-11657040583371.htmL

• Policy | Will the proposed changes to the competition law weaken it?- Policy | Will the proposed changes to the competition law weaken it? (moneycontrol.com)

• CCI Proposes Amendments to Combination Regulations-CCI Proposes Amendments to Combination Regulations | Competition Law (cyrilamarchandblogs.com)

• The Antitrust Year in Review – 2020- The Antitrust Year in Review – 2020 | Competition Law (cyrilamarchandblogs.com)

Education

Awards