The IndiGo crisis has revived fears of duopolies across the Indian economy, from airlines and telecom to UPI and e-commerce. Data does show heavy concentration in a few hands, but experts and regulators say high market share isn’t a problem by itself. However, things can go wrong when dominant firms shut out rivals or exploit consumers.
Within hours of the IndiGo delays turning into a full-blown crisis, especially with rivals jacking up fares to astronomical levels, flyers blamed the duopoly in the aviation sector for the mess. After all, their options to travel were limited.
Soon, social media users and politicians waded in, arguing that duopolies existed across the economy — from digital payments to depositories, DTH services, cement and telecom. Some went to the extent of adding food delivery, ride hailing and even cola to the list.
