SEBI ‘close’ to approving NSE’s long-awaited IPO, says chairman Pandey

Tuhin Kanta Pandey, Chairman, SEBI, addressed the celebration of 30 years of NSE Clearing
| Photo Credit:
NSE India

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) is “close” to approving the draft papers for the National Stock Exchange’s (NSE) long-awaited initial public offering (IPO), Chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey said on Thursday.

Speaking on the sidelines of an event celebrating 30 years of NSE Clearing, Pandey said the regulator is yet to decide on allowing NSE shares to trade on its own platform under the ‘permitted to trade’ category. “We have not thought about it. It is something we need to assess properly. It may take time. We cannot discuss it at the moment as we have to apply our minds to it,” he said.

The IPO is expected to come as early as next month, following the regulator’s final approval. The market regulator last month in-principle agreed to settle the applications filed by NSE in co-location and dark fibre matters for ₹1,491.21 crore.

The stock exchange filed its draft documents with SEBI in June for an offer for sale comprising up to 148.9 million equity shares of face value ₹1 each, or nearly 6 per cent of NSE’s paid-up capital, with no fresh issue component.

The stock is currently trading at a valuation of around Rs 5 lakh crore in the unlisted market and is expected to be one of the largest IPOs by size, at around ₹30,000 crore.

Separately, the regulator is also working on rationalising settlement, margin and risk-management provisions for clearing corporations, while also looking to simplify periodic filings and operational processes.

“We are examining a proposal on margin rationalisation for subsequent buy or sell transactions following the acceptance of early pay-in of securities in the cash segment,” he said.

Early pay-in is when investors deliver securities or funds to a clearing corporation, through securities held in their demat account, before the official settlement date, rather than the standard settlement cycle.

The regulator is also working on a standard operating procedure (SOP) for operational activities related to settlement on unscheduled holidays.

Published on August 27, 2026