On 9 September 2024, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs introduced the Deal Value Threshold ("DVT") under the Competition Commission of India ("CCI"). A year since its implementation, the provision has sparked mixed reactions. 1 At the time of its introduction, DVT was hailed as a potential game-changer for the Indian market, expected to curb "killer acquisitions" in the startup ecosystem. The framework requires that any merger or acquisition exceeding ₹2,000 crore, where the target has a Substantial Business Operation in India ("SBOI"), be notified to the CCI. This reform was largely driven by high-profile tech deals that had previously gone unchecked under the older regime. 2 While the intent was to capture such transactions in the fastgrowing digital economy, the ₹2,000 crore threshold has proven to be excessively high and blunt in practice, raising concerns for India's MSME sector and R&D.