The National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) has formally submitted its Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP) to the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), initiating one of the country's most anticipated initial public offerings. This move, nearly a decade after a previous attempt was stalled by the co-location controversy, positions NSE for an IPO estimated to be between $2 billion and $3 billion, potentially reaching as high as $3.6 billion (₹30,000 crore). This would make it India's largest public issue, surpassing Hyundai Motor India's $3.34 billion (₹27,870 crore) offering from October 2024. The IPO is structured entirely as an offer-for-sale (OFS) of up to 14.89 crore shares, meaning the exchange itself will not raise new capital; instead, existing shareholders will sell a portion of their holdings. This represents approximately 6% of the exchange's stake. The proceeds from the sale will go to these selling shareholders.
Key investors planning to divest stakes include institutional and private entities. State Bank of India (SBI) is a prominent seller, proposing to offload up to 2.48 crore shares. Other major participants include Investment (Mauritius) Limited with 1.60 crore shares, Tiger Global, Aranda Investments (Mauritius), SAIF II-SE Investments, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (1.19 crore shares), IDBI Bank (74.15 lakh shares), SBI Capital Markets (53.62 lakh shares), IFCI (34.31 lakh shares), HDFC Standard Life, Bajaj Holdings & Investment, Bank of Baroda, New India Assurance Company, and United India Insurance. Notably, Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), NSE's largest shareholder with a 10% stake, is not participating in the share sale.
The listing process for NSE has been a long and arduous journey, initially attempted in December 2016 with a proposed ₹10,000 crore issue. However, regulatory investigations into the co-location controversy, concerning allegations of preferential access given to certain algorithmic traders, delayed the process. SEBI's probe ran for years, and in January 2026, SEBI Chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey announced an "in-principle" approval for NSE's settlement application in the case. This settlement application was filed in June 2025, with NSE offering to pay ₹1,388 crore to resolve the matter, helping clear a significant hurdle for the IPO. The exchange's board formally approved the IPO in February 2026, following SEBI's no-objection certificate.
NSE has played a significant role in transforming India's capital markets by democratizing access and enabling efficient capital flows through its transparent, technology-driven ecosystem. Its proprietary technology infrastructure supports high-speed and high-frequency transactions, ensuring seamless market operations and comprehensive data dissemination. The exchange's unique registered investor base has shown remarkable growth, expanding at a compounded rate of 26.9% from 30.87 million as of March 31, 2020, to 129.1 million as of March 31, 2026. In FY2026, NSE's platform facilitated total fund mobilization of ₹20.3 trillion, and its investors span over 99% of Indian postal codes by March 2026.
