The long-awaited financial blockbuster is officially here. The National Stock Exchange of India (NSE), the country’s premier stock exchange and the world’s largest equity derivatives exchange, has officially submitted its Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP) to market regulator SEBI. Filed on June 17, 2026, this tectonic market event marks the end of a decade-long wait for retail investors and institutional backers alike.
Targeting a staggering valuation of nearly ₹5 lakh crore ($60+ Billion), the issue size is expected to be around ₹30,000 crore. This would position the NSE IPO as the largest public issue in the history of Indian capital markets, eclipsing Hyundai Motor India’s ₹27,870 crore issue and LIC’s ₹20,557 crore listing.
NSE IPO: Key Details & Offer Structure
Because an Indian stock exchange cannot self-list on its own platform due to clear regulatory guidelines, the equity shares of the NSE are proposed to be listed entirely on BSE Limited.
- Total Issue Size (Estimated): ~₹30,000 crore
- Total Number of Shares: Up to 148,905,525 Equity Shares (Face Value of ₹1 per share)
- Offer Type: 100% Offer-for-Sale (OFS). There is no fresh issue component, meaning all funds will go straight to the selling shareholders and none to the exchange itself.
- IPO Allocation Quota:
- Qualified Institutional Buyers (QIB): 50%
- Retail Investors: 35%
- High Net-Worth Individuals (HNI): 15%
- Shareholder Quota Eligibility: Investors who held at least one unlisted share of NSE before June 15, 2025, qualify for the specific shareholder quota.
Major Institutional Backers Selling in the OFS
Through this IPO, existing institutional investors will dilute roughly 6% of the company’s total equity. The prominent institutions offloading their stakes include:
- State Bank of India (SBI): The largest selling shareholder, offloading up to 24.75 million shares.
- MS Strategic (Mauritius) Ltd: Selling up to 16 million shares.
- Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB): Offloading up to 11.87 million shares.
- Aranda Investments (Mauritius) Pte Ltd (Temasek-backed): Selling up to 11.24 million shares.
- Public Sector Insurers & Banks: Bank of Baroda, Stock Holding Corporation of India, GIC, and New India Assurance are each paring ~11 million shares. National Insurance and United India Insurance are offloading ~6 million shares each.
Note on Non-Participants: Interestingly, LIC (NSE’s largest single shareholder with a 10.72% stake), Premji Invest (2.35%), and veteran investor Radhakishan Damani (1.58%) are not selling a single share, signaling strong long-term confidence in the exchange.
Overcoming a Decade of Regulatory Hurdles
The path to this IPO has been a long one. NSE initially filed to go public back in 2016 but was forced to pause due to the high-profile co-location controversy, where select brokers allegedly gained unfair, faster access to trading servers.
Following extensive legal proceedings, governance reforms, and a comprehensive settlement offer of roughly ₹1,388 crore to resolve the legacy server-access disputes, SEBI cleared the path for listing. Ironically, the immediate reaction to the DRHP announcement saw BSE shares dip by 3.81% on the NSE platform as the market factored in the new exchange rivalry.
Financial Health: Inside the NSE Numbers
Despite a minor cool-off in the macro trading volumes during the latest fiscal year, NSE maintains highly robust profitability margins.
Consolidated Financial Performance (2024 – 2026)
(Amount in ₹ Crores)
| Period Ended | Total Revenue | Total Expenses | Profit After Tax (PAT) |
| FY 2024 | ₹16,352.06 | ₹3,608.79 | ₹8,305.74 |
| FY 2025 | ₹19,176.83 | ₹4,806.29 | ₹12,187.69 |
| FY 2026 | ₹18,713.37 | ₹5,999.90 | ₹10,302.06 |
Critical Valuation Ratios (FY2026)
- Earnings Per Share (EPS): ₹41.62 (Basic)
- Return on Net Worth (RoNW): 33.21%
- Net Asset Value (NAV): ₹129.75 per share
- P/E Ratio: To be finalized once the price band is announced.
Grey Market Premium (GMP) Insights
In the unlisted gray market, NSE shares have recently been trading in a roaring range of ₹1,950 to ₹2,055 per share, which underlines the projected ₹5 trillion market valuation.
Market Peer Comparison
NSE significantly commands the lion’s share of trading volumes across India. Here is how its financial baseline stands next to its listed peer, BSE Limited:
| Company Name | EPS (₹) | P/E Ratio | RoNW (%) | NAV (₹) | Total Revenue |
| NSE Limited | 41.62 | TBD | 33.21% | 129.75 | ₹18,713.37 Cr. |
| BSE Limited | 60.61 | 66.67 | 45.00% | 163.60 | ₹4,833.95 Cr. |
A Powerhouse Syndicate of Merchant Bankers
To manage a listing of this scale smoothly, a colossal consortium of 20 premier global and domestic book-running lead managers has been mobilized:
Kotak Mahindra Capital, JM Financial, Axis Capital, IIFL Capital Services, Motilal Oswal, ICICI Securities, SBI Capital Markets, Nuvama Wealth, HDFC Bank, Avendus Capital, Morgan Stanley, Citigroup, JPMorgan, HSBC Securities, IDBI Capital, 360 ONE WAM, Anand Rathi, DAM Capital, Pantomath Capital, and Equirus Capital.