After nearly a decade of regulatory hurdles and legal scrutiny, the National Stock Exchange (NSE) is preparing to take a decisive step towards its much-awaited stock market debut.
The board of India’s largest bourse is scheduled to meet on February 6 to formally initiate the process for its initial public offering (IPO), following the recent no-objection certificate (NOC) granted by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), reported PTI.
The media agency stated that the upcoming board meeting is expected to mark the beginning of the formal listing process, with the exchange moving from regulatory limbo to operational preparation.
Special IPO Committee on the Agenda
One of the key items on the agenda is the formation of a dedicated IPO committee. This specialised panel is likely to act as the central authority overseeing the listing exercise. According to the report, the committee will outline the procedural roadmap for the IPO and determine the criteria for appointing merchant bankers and legal advisers responsible for drafting the Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP).
The board will also review and approve the exchange’s unaudited financial results for the quarter and nine-month period ending December 2025, a crucial step as NSE prepares to open its books to public investors.
A Decade-Long Wait
NSE’s listing ambitions date back to 2016, when it first filed draft documents to raise around Rs 10,000 crore through an offer for sale by existing shareholders. However, the plan was put on hold after SEBI withheld approval due to regulatory concerns linked to governance issues and the controversial co-location case.
The co-location matter centred on allegations that certain brokers received preferential access to NSE’s trading systems, giving them an unfair market advantage. The episode led to prolonged litigation and heightened regulatory scrutiny, effectively stalling the exchange’s IPO dreams.
Since then, NSE has made multiple approaches to the regulator seeking clearance. A significant breakthrough came last month when SEBI chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey confirmed that the regulator had granted in-principle approval to NSE’s settlement application in the unfair market access case, a development widely seen as clearing a major obstacle.
Pandey had indicated at the time that the NOC could be issued within about a month. NSE had filed its settlement plea in June 2025.
The Settlement That Changed the Course
In 2025, after years of legal proceedings, NSE offered to pay Rs 1,388 crore to settle charges related to the co-location controversy and move forward with its listing plans. The settlement application proved to be a turning point, eventually leading to Sebi granting the NOC on Friday.
The regulator’s clearance effectively signals the end of one of the most closely watched regulatory sagas in India’s capital markets history.
What Happens Next?
NSE managing director and chief executive Ashish Kumar Chauhan had earlier described the in-principle approval as a positive development, while noting that formal communication was awaited at the time.
“Once we receive the NOC, we will follow the conditions mentioned in the intimation and begin preparations for filing the draft red herring prospectus (DRHP),” Chauhan had told PTI Videos.
He had also outlined a tentative timeline, stating that it could take up to four months after receiving SEBI’s NOC to file the DRHP. The draft document would then require regulatory clearance before the IPO could proceed. According to Chauhan, the public issue itself could hit the markets around seven to eight months after the NOC.
In March 2025, SEBI had constituted an internal committee to examine NSE’s listing proposal, another step in the lengthy review process that has now culminated in regulatory clearance.
One of India’s Biggest IPOs in the Making
The proposed public issue is expected to rank among the largest IPOs in India’s capital markets. NSE has around 1.77 lakh shareholders, and analysts estimate its grey market valuation at over Rs 5 lakh crore.
If the listing proceeds as anticipated, it will not only unlock value for existing shareholders but also offer public investors a rare opportunity to own a stake in the country’s dominant stock exchange.
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