India’s mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity remained strong through March this year, reaching a three-year high of $18.2 billion—up 2.5 per cent from $17.75 billion in the same period last year. The number of M&A deals also saw a 4.2 per cent year-on-year increase, rising to 570 from 544, according to the latest data from LSEG Deals Intelligence.
In January-March 11, 2023, M&A activity volumes stood at $10.63 billion with number of deals at 584.
It maybe recalled that the current year 2025 started on a strong note with M&A activity in January hitting a 16-month high of $11.36 billion.
Some of the big M&A deals announced or completed in January 2025 include ITC Hotels ($4.3 billion); JSW Energy’s acquisition of KSK Mahanadi Power Co Ltd ($1.855 billion) and AM Green Power’s acquisition of Greenko Energy Holdings ($1.418 billion).
In February 2025, some of the top deals include ONGC NTPC Green’s $ 2.25 billion deal to acquire 100 per cent stake in Ayana Renewable Power and KKR-backed Hector Asia Holdings II’s acquisition (deal value of $216.11 million) acquisition.
Budget plans
The robust M&A activity this year comes at a time when the Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had in her recent Budget speech promised a new smoother framework for M&As. Sitharaman had said that the government will simplify the merger process and expand the scope of fast-track mergers. These measures are part of a broader overhaul of the M&A framework to facilitate seamless corporate restructuring.
As a potential game-changer for M&A activity, the recent Budget had outlined plans to streamline requirements and procedures for faster company merger approvals.
M&As have in the recent times evolved into powerful instruments of growth, increasingly embraced by Indian businesses as a vital component of their strategic toolkit.
No longer limited to market consolidation, M&As are now leveraged for expansion, diversification, and achieving competitive advantages. These transactions are more than just corporate milestones—they reflect the vibrancy and momentum of India’s economic activity, economy watchers said.
But speedy execution is critical for maximising the benefits of M&As. The current framework unfortunately is not up to speed on this front as merger approvals are court driven processes.
Recognising the strategic importance of M&A activity, the Cabinet Secretary T V Somanathan had initiated an exercise of getting inter-ministerial feedback on set of suggestions that have been received by the government for simplification of process of mergers, amalgamations and demergers. The exercise is aimed at simplifying and streamlining the M&A framework.
The initiative aligns with the government’s vision of fostering a business-friendly regulatory environment, ensuring that all mergers and acquisitions happen at “digital speed” to match the evolving market dynamics.
This reform effort seeks to eliminate procedural bottlenecks, expedite approvals, and make the process more agile and transparent. By aligning regulatory policies with the pace of business, the Centre aims to sustain the momentum in India’s M&A space and ensure it remains a key driver of economic growth.
The main limbs of the proposed framework centre around two significant changes —rationalise the jurisdiction of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), declog the Tribunal and ensure a more seamless approval process for mergers involving listed and unlisted entities.
The other is to expand the scope of existing fast track route (FTR) route for merger approvals so as to cover all mergers between unlisted entities and also ‘mirror demergers’ for listed entities. Demerger approvals in India currently take between 15-26 months.
