NSE IPO: NSE board approves long-delayed listing plans; IPO to have equity shares of face value Re 1

The National Stock Exchange of India on Friday said its board has approved an initial public offering of the company through an offer for sale (OFS) by existing shareholders. In a note, NSE said it has formally moved ahead with its long-delayed listing plans after its Governing Board cleared the IPO following the receipt of a no-objection certificate (NOC) from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).

The proposed IPO will involve the listing of NSE equity shares of face value Re 1 on one or more recognised Indian stock exchanges, subject to regulatory approvals, market conditions and other relevant factors.

IPO committee

As part of the process, the board has also approved the reconstitution of the IPO Committee, which will serve as the central authority for facilitating the listing. The committee will oversee key IPO-related activities, including defining listing procedures and guiding the appointment of merchant bankers and legal advisors for drafting the Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP). The reconstituted committee is chaired by Tablesh Pandey and includes public interest directors Srinivas Injeti, Prof. Mamata Biswal, Justice (Retd.) Abhilasha Kumari, Prof. G. Sivakumar, along with Ashishkumar Chauhan, Managing Director and CEO of NSE.

NSE’s IPO is expected to be among the largest in India’s capital markets. The exchange has about 1.77 lakh shareholders and is estimated to be valued at over Rs 5 lakh crore in the grey market, according to analysts. The issue is widely expected to be a pure OFS, with no fresh capital raise.

The listing plans had remained on hold since 2016 due to regulatory concerns linked to governance lapses and the co-location case. A key breakthrough came after SEBI granted in-principle approval to NSE’s settlement application in the unfair market access case, for which the exchange agreed to pay Rs 1,388 crore. NSE filed the settlement plea in June 2025.

According to earlier statements by NSE management, the exchange may take up to four months to file the DRHP after receiving SEBI’s NOC, with the IPO likely to hit the markets seven to eight months thereafter, subject to approvals and market conditions. With board approval now in place, NSE’s long-awaited public listing has entered the execution phase after nearly a decade of regulatory delays.

IPO planning

Last week, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) issued a formal no-objection certificate (NOC) to the National Stock Exchange (NSE), clearing a major regulatory hurdle and ending years of delay linked to governance concerns and the co-location controversy.

Reports indicate that the proposed IPO will be a pure offer for sale (OFS) by existing shareholders and could be launched within the next seven to eight months. 

The issue is expected to rank among India’s largest listings. NSE has about 1.77 lakh shareholders and is valued at over Rs 5 lakh crore in the grey market, according to analysts.