The National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) has filed its Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP) with market regulator SEBI for its long-awaited initial public offering (IPO), setting the stage for one of the largest and most closely watched listings in the history of India's capital markets. With NSE's valuation in the unlisted market hovering around Rs 5 lakh crore, market estimates suggest the IPO could be sized at roughly Rs 30,000 crore, making it one of the biggest public offerings in India.
Here’s everything investors should know.
1.) IPO Details
-2.) Where will the NSE shares be listed?
NSE's shares will be listed on BSE, mirroring the arrangement under which BSE's own shares are listed on NSE.
3.) NSE Valuation
- According to Nitant Darekar, Research Analyst at Bonanza, NSE continues to command premium valuations in the unlisted market. "NSE remains a capital-light near-monopoly. At around Rs 1,950-2,170 in the unlisted market, it trades near 45x FY26 earnings. That's rich, but below BSE at around 70x and MCX at around 80x," Darekar said. He added that the recent settlement of the long-running co-location case has removed a key overhang that had weighed on the listing process for years.
4.) 7 PSUs sell stake
- 7 public sector entities, including State Bank of India (SBI), Bank of Baroda, Stock Holding Corporation, GIC, New India Assurance, National Insurance Company, and United Insurance Company are set to partially monetise their holdings in the National Stock Exchange (NSE) through the bourse's long-awaited initial public offering (IPO).
According to NSE's Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP) filed with market regulator SEBI, the seven government-owned entities together hold approximately 7.97 crore shares that are part of the proposed offer for sale (OFS).
5.) LIC, others retain stake
- Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), one of NSE's key shareholders, will not be participating in the share sale. Premji Invest, which holds a 2.35% stake, and investor Radhakishan Damani, who owns 1.58%, are also not selling any shares, according to the DRHP.
6.) NSE financials
- NSE's revenue from operations rose to Rs 16,601 crore in FY26 from Rs 14,780 crore in FY24, while net profit increased to Rs 10,302 crore from Rs 8,305 crore over the same period. However, profit after tax declined 15% year-on-year from Rs 12,188 crore in FY25 to Rs 10,302 crore in FY26, partly reflecting the impact of SEBI's tighter regulations on equity derivatives trading.
7.) World's largest derivatives exchange
- According to the World Federation of Exchanges, NSE retained its position as the world's largest equity derivatives exchange, with more than 36.99 billion contracts traded during Fiscal 2026, including activity on NSE International Exchange (NSEIX).
As of March 31, 2026, the exchange was also the largest in India by total cash market turnover and the third-largest globally by number of cash equity trades, according to the World Federation of Exchanges.
8.) Strong tech infra
- NSE's technology infrastructure processed an average of 12-14 billion messages daily as of March 2026, highlighting the scale of its trading ecosystem. The exchange also recorded its highest-ever cumulative trading activity on June 4, 2024, when total trades across segments reached 293.85 million.
9.) NSE IPO history
- The filing marks the culmination of a listing process first initiated in December 2016, when NSE filed its first DRHP for a Rs 10,000-crore issue. The process was subsequently stalled due to the co-location controversy.
10.) NSE dividend history
NSE is India's largest stock exchange in terms of cash market turnover, equity derivatives turnover and exchange-traded currency derivatives turnover. NSE's strong and consistent cash generation is reflected in its shareholder payouts. The exchange paid a dividend of Rs 35 per share in both FY25 and FY26, while the FY24 dividend stood at Rs 18 per share on a bonus-adjusted basis.
(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)
