India’s mainboard IPO pipeline hits Rs 3.86 lakh crore, 3.5 times 2026 fundraising: Report

The Association of Investment Bankers of India (AIBI) on Monday released its mid-term white paper, India Capital Markets: Navigating Geopolitics, Capital & Growth, saying India’s primary market is moving beyond an episodic IPO cycle towards a deeper and more sustained capital formation ecosystem.

According to the report, the mainboard IPO pipeline stood at about Rs 3.86 lakh crore as of September 2026, around 3.5 times the Rs 1.10 lakh crore raised through 84 mainboard IPOs so far this year. AIBI said the size of the pipeline reflects sustained issuer interest in public markets and offers visibility on the depth of the primary market beyond the capital already mobilised in 2026.

Mainboard pipeline
AIBI said the pipeline includes about 130 companies that have received SEBI approval, while another roughly 75 companies have filed their draft red herring prospectuses and are awaiting approval. The report said this expansion forms part of a broader structural shift in India’s equity capital markets.

“India’s primary market has moved well beyond an episodic fundraising cycle. We have already seen Rs 1.10 lakh crore mobilised through 84 mainboard IPOs in 2026 so far. The market has a Rs 3.86 lakh crore pipeline, including around Rs 2.43 lakh crore from companies that have received SEBI approval and another Rs 1.44 lakh crore awaiting approval,” said Mahavir Lunawat, Chairman at AIBI.

“This depth of supply and stronger participation demonstrates that the primary market is becoming a broader and more durable channel for capital formation. The larger structural shift is that India’s capital markets are increasingly being supported by domestic capital and a much wider capital formation architecture. Domestic investor participation has deepened,” he added.

Fundraising trend
Mainboard IPOs have together raised Rs 8.36 lakh crore between 2016 and 2026 year-to-date, according to the report. Annual fundraising rose from Rs 26,494 crore in 2016 to Rs 1.76 lakh crore in 2025, while 2026 year-to-date has already seen Rs 1.10 lakh crore raised across 84 issues. The number of mainboard IPOs also increased from 26 in 2016 to 103 in 2025, with 84 issues launched so far in 2026.

SME market growth
The deepening of the primary market has not been limited to large issuers. India’s SME IPO market recorded 267 issues in 2025, the highest annual number in the period covered by the report, followed by 156 issues in 2026 year-to-date. Cumulative SME fundraising reached Rs 39,849 crore over 2016-2026 year-to-date, while the average SME issue size increased from Rs 8 crore in 2016 to Rs 45 crore in 2026 year-to-date.

Intermediaries and participation
AIBI said the growth in market activity has been accompanied by a larger intermediary ecosystem. The number of registered merchant bankers rose from 188 in September 2016 to 250 in September 2026, an increase of about 33%. Investor participation also remained broad-based, with average subscription levels in 2026 year-to-date at about 49 times for QIBs, 86 times for HNI investors and 26 times for retail investors, though the report noted that subscription levels vary materially across issues.

Next phase
AIBI said the next phase of India’s primary market will be shaped not only by the number of companies coming to market, but also by the quality of issuers, depth of institutional participation, quality of disclosures, wider distribution of capital and the ecosystem’s ability to support companies through successive stages of growth.

It said the Rs 3.86 lakh crore pipeline, expansion in mainboard fundraising, rise in SME participation and stronger intermediary capacity show the primary market is increasingly becoming a structural pillar of capital formation. The next challenge, it said, will be to translate this depth into efficient capital allocation, stronger investor confidence and sustainable long-term market development.

AIBI described itself as the apex body of investment bankers in India and said its chairperson represents the association on committees of SEBI and the International Financial Services Centres Authority, while also taking part in discussions on regulatory reforms related to capital markets