Mergers and acquisitions (M&As) in India witnessed a significant jump in the first six months this year to $17.1 billion, a 47.4 per cent increase from H1 2013 when it stood at $11.6 billion. Pharma, medical and biotech were the most active sectors during the first half of 2014 as they cornered 27 per cent of market share from deals worth $4.6 billion. Interestingly, though the industrials and chemicals sector led the industry chart in terms of number of deals (27), the deal value totalled to just $0.6 billion, down 61.4 per cent over the corresponding period a year ago.