New Delhi: The Competition Commission of India (CCI) registered 54 cases related to anti-competitive practices and received 149 merger and acquisition (M&A) filings during calendar year 2025, underlining a steady pipeline of deal activity alongside heightened antitrust scrutiny, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs said on Monday. The watchdog passed final orders in 38 antitrust cases and disposed of 146 merger notices during the year.
The data comes as the government rolls out a new enforcement architecture under the Competition (Amendment) Act, 2023, aimed at making India’s competition regime faster, tougher and more predictable for businesses.
Faster deal clearances, new settlement route
One of the most significant changes is the reduction in the statutory timeline for merger approvals from 210 days to 150 days, a move expected to bring Indian reviews closer to global best practices and cut deal uncertainty for companies.
The law has also introduced a settlement and commitment framework, allowing companies to resolve certain competition cases faster, and expanded the Green Channel route, which enables deemed approval of combinations upon filing—effectively fast-tracking non-problematic deals.
For dealmakers, this means quicker closures; for the regulator, it frees up bandwidth to focus on complex or high-impact cases.
Stiffer penalties linked to global turnover
On the enforcement side, the government has notified CCI (Determination of Monetary Penalty) Guidelines, 2024, which lay down a detailed methodology for calculating penalties. Crucially, the amended law allows penalties to be computed on the global turnover of the offending enterprise or person, significantly raising the potential financial exposure for large multinationals found in violation.
Legal and corporate circles see this as a clear signal that India is aligning its competition regime with stricter global standards, while also increasing the deterrence value of CCI orders.
AI markets under the lens
The CCI has also completed a market study on artificial intelligence and competition, identifying emerging risks such as concentration in the AI value chain, ecosystem lock-in, algorithmic collusion through AI-driven pricing tools, self-preferencing across the tech stack and AI-enabled price discrimination using consumer data.
To address these concerns, the study recommends measures such as self-audits by companies, greater transparency, focused advocacy and capacity building by the CCI, continued government policy support, and stronger inter-regulatory and international cooperation.
What it means for business
For corporates and investors, the message is twofold: deal approvals should become faster and more predictable, but compliance risks are also rising with tougher penalty norms and a sharper regulatory focus on new-age digital and AI-driven markets.
As India’s M&A pipeline deepens and technology markets expand, the CCI’s 2025 numbers suggest the competition regulator is gearing up for a more muscular and time-bound phase of enforcement.