The National Stock Exchange (NSE) has taken a significant step towards its long-awaited stock market debut after filing draft papers for an initial public offering that could become the biggest listing in India’s corporate history.
The exchange submitted its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) to the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on Wednesday. The proposed issue involves up to 148.9 million equity shares and is estimated to be worth around Rs 30,000 crore.
If launched at the expected size, the IPO would surpass the Rs 27,859 crore public issue of Hyundai Motor India in 2024 and set a new record for the country’s largest market debut.
The filing marks a milestone for India’s largest stock exchange, whose listing plans have faced several regulatory hurdles over the years.
Pure offer for sale
According to the draft documents, the public issue will be entirely an offer for sale (OFS), meaning no fresh shares will be issued by the exchange. Existing shareholders will dilute part of their holdings through the IPO.
The State Bank of India is expected to be the largest selling shareholder, proposing to offload 24.75 million shares.
MS Strategic (Mauritius) Limited plans to sell 16 million shares, while the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board has proposed divesting nearly 11.87 million shares.
Other major shareholders participating in the OFS include Aranda Investments (Mauritius) Pte. Ltd., Bank of Baroda, Stock Holding Corporation of India Limited, General Insurance Corporation of India and The New India Assurance Company Ltd.
National Insurance Company Limited and United India Insurance Company Limited have each proposed the sale of 6 million shares.
Financial performance
The financial data included in the DRHP showed that NSE reported total income of Rs 187,133.70 million during the financial year ended March 31, 2026.
This was lower than Rs 191,768.31 million recorded in FY25 but remained above the Rs 163,520.62 million reported in FY24.
Revenue from operations stood at Rs 166,013.09 million in FY26, compared with Rs 171,406.78 million a year earlier and Rs 147,800.11 million in FY24.
Expenses excluding contributions to the Core Settlement Guarantee Fund rose to Rs 59,999.03 million during FY26 from Rs 48,062.92 million in the previous financial year.
Despite higher costs, the exchange remained profitable.
Profit from continuing operations came in at Rs 101,795.29 million for FY26. The figure was lower than Rs 116,057.48 million reported in FY25 but higher than Rs 84,064.80 million in FY24.
Net profit for FY26 stood at Rs 103,020.61 million, compared with Rs 121,876.89 million in the preceding financial year.
The exchange reported total comprehensive income of Rs 103,710.93 million, including other comprehensive income of Rs 690.32 million.