NSE IPO Update: The Board Approves IPO, Reconstitutes Committee to Oversee Listing

The decision follows the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) granting a No Objection Certificate (NoC) on January 30, a crucial step that paved the way for NSE to restart the listing process.

IPO Committee Reconstituted to Oversee Listing Process

As part of the IPO roadmap, the NSE board approved the reconstitution of the IPO Committee, which will supervise and facilitate all activities related to the public issue, including governance, compliance, and procedural discipline.

The committee will be chaired by Tablesh Pandey, a non-independent director and former LIC Managing Director. Other members include public interest directors Srinivas Injeti, Mamata Biswal, Abhilasha Kumari, and G. Sivakumar, along with Ashishkumar Chauhan, Managing Director and CEO of NSE.

The IPO committee will spearhead the entire listing process, starting with finalising criteria for appointing merchant bankers and legal advisors who will prepare the Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP).

DRHP Filing Timeline: March or April

The formal IPO process is expected to begin next week. Once the selection criteria are finalised, eligible merchant bankers will be invited for presentations, commonly referred to as a “beauty parade.”

NSE is targeting the filing of the DRHP by end-March or early April. If audited numbers for the September quarter are used, the filing could take place by the end of March. However, if the exchange opts to include the December quarter audited results, the DRHP filing may be pushed to April.

IPO Size and Structure: Offer for Sale

The proposed IPO will consist of an offer for sale of approximately 4.5% of NSE’s equity, with shares of face value ₹1 each to be listed on one or more stock exchanges.

NSE MD & CEO Ashishkumar Chauhan has stated that the exchange prefers an OFS route but may consider a fresh issuance of shares only if the required dilution cannot be achieved through existing shareholders.

SEBI NoC Ends Decade-Long Regulatory Overhang

SEBI’s No Objection Certificate, granted on January 30, is a landmark development for NSE, whose IPO plans have been stalled since 2016 due to regulatory probes related to governance lapses and the co-location controversy.

NSE had first filed draft offer documents in 2016 to raise around ₹10,000 crore, but the plan was withdrawn as investigations gathered pace. The matter even reached the Delhi High Court, with both NSE and SEBI named as parties.

In June 2025, NSE filed a settlement plea with SEBI and later offered to pay Rs 1,388 crore to settle the unfair market access case. Last month, SEBI Chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey confirmed that the regulator had granted in-principle approval to NSE’s settlement application, setting the stage for the eventual NoC.

IPO Timeline: Market Debut Likely in 7-8 Months

According to Ashishkumar Chauhan, once the NoC was received, NSE planned to begin preparations for filing the DRHP. He indicated earlier that it could take up to four months to file the DRHP after receiving the NoC, followed by regulatory review.

Based on this timeline, the IPO could hit the markets around seven to eight months after the NoC, depending on approvals and market conditions. NSE currently has around 1.77 lakh shareholders.