Mediation has moved from being seen as a soft and informal settlement process to becoming an increasingly serious part of justice delivery in India. The older view of mediation was mainly centred on the personal skills of the mediator such as patience, neutrality, listening, reframing and confidentiality. Those elements remain important even today. However, the present phase of mediation is different because mediation is no longer discussed only as a moral or practical alternative to litigation. It is now supported by a dedicated statutory framework under the Mediation Act, 2023. The law has attempted to give mediation a firmer institutional structure by recognising pre litigation mediation, enforceability of mediated settlement agreements, online mediation, community mediation, and the future role of mediation institutions and service providers.  This paper examines whether mediation can truly be called the favoured dispute resolution mechanism in India today. It first explains the basic idea of mediation and the conduct expected from a mediator. It then revisits the key features which make mediation attractive, such as party autonomy, confidentiality, flexibility, preservation of relationships and procedural economy. After that, it studies contemporary developments. These include the burden of court pendency, the shift from Section 89 CPC based referral culture to a separate mediation statute, the rise of online dispute resolution, the international relevance of the Singapore Convention, and the growing discussion on AI assisted mediation. The paper argues that mediation has indeed acquired a stronger legal and policy position than before, but it cannot become the truly favoured mechanism unless questions of training, public trust, digital access, institutional quality, and ethical use of technology are carefully addressed