For the better part of a decade, "When will NSE go public?" was one of Indian finance's most repeated questions — and its most frustrating. On Wednesday, that question finally got an answer: soon.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India issued its no-objection certificate, clearing the National Stock Exchange to begin its long-awaited initial public offering process. The NSE board is set to meet on Friday, February 6, to formally kick things into gear.
Why It Took So Long
The delay was never about money or market appetite. It was about scandal. In 2016, NSE filed its draft offer documents only to see them shelved when the co-location controversy erupted — allegations that certain brokers received preferential access to the exchange's trading systems, giving them an unfair speed advantage measured in microseconds.
Years of investigation, litigation, and regulatory freeze followed. NSE eventually offered to pay Rs 1,388 crore to settle the charges and close the chapter. SEBI chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey confirmed the "in-principle" approval of that settlement, effectively removing the last regulatory roadblock.
The Numbers That Make Traders Drool
NSE is not just any company going public. It is the beating heart of Indian capital markets — the exchange where over 90% of equity derivatives trading in India takes place. It has approximately 1.77 lakh shareholders already. Grey market estimates put its valuation north of Rs 5 lakh crore. The IPO itself could involve an offer-for-sale of around 4.5% stake, potentially raising close to Rs 23,000 crore.
If those numbers hold, this would rank among the largest IPOs in Indian history.
What Happens Friday
The board meeting will constitute a specialized IPO committee — the command center for the listing. This committee will define procedures for appointing merchant bankers and legal advisors, establish criteria for drafting the Red Herring Prospectus, and review unaudited financials for the quarter ending December 2025.
The DRHP could be filed as early as March. An actual listing? Market watchers are cautiously penciling in late 2026 — but after a decade of waiting, nobody's making bets on the timeline anymore.