Nearly a decade after filing its first DRHP, the National Stock Exchange has received much awaited approval for its initial public offering (IPO), according to an observation letter issued by SEBI on Friday, September 4.
As NSE inches closer towards IPO, here's a look at the key developments in the exchange's journey towards going public.
A Decade-Long Wait
NSE first filed DRHP with the SEBI in December 2016, with the aim to raise approximately Rs 10,000 crore through an offer-for-sale by existing shareholders. The IPO plans did not materialise then due to a co-location case, where certain brokers allegedly received unfair access to NSE's trading systems, providing them an advantage. The claims resulted in a regulatory investigation.
From 2017 to 2022, SEBI's three chairpersons looked after the case without clearing the IPO path, even as institutional investors began to exit over time.
In April 2019, the regulator passed orders against the entities engaged in the co-location scam and instructed NSE to pay Rs 625 crore with an interest at the rate of 12% per annum from April 2014. It also restricted the stock exchange from raising funds through the securities market both directly or indirectly for six months. SEBI also highlighted inadequacies in NSE's IPO application, giving the exchange 24 months to resolve them. Although the Securities Appellate Tribunal modified financial penalties in January 2023, it upheld the market access restriction.
In May 2024, the People Activism Forum filed a writ petition in the Delhi High Court for the capital market regulator to allow the IPO. In response, the NSE reapplied for an NOC in August. After two months, NSE paid Rs 643 crore to SEBI as partial settlement related to the co-location case, indicating an intent to resolve outstanding issues. However, SEBI flagged four concerns including over past trading outages, demands for ethical oversight, legal cases pending in the Supreme Court and NSE's control over NSE Clearing Corp.
In February 2025, the SEBI issued a detailed letter to NSE highlighting deficiencies and expectations. Soon after, Chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey publicly clarified that the regulator was not blocking the IPO but ensuring "due diligence". In May, the exchange offered around Rs 1,400 crore to settle pending cases. Other issues that have been previously highlighted are to be dealt with post settlement.
In January 2026, the market regulator gave its long-pending no-objection certificate (NOC) to NSE IPO. "We are delighted to receive SEBI approval for our IPO," NSE Chairperson Srinivas Injeti said.
NSE Files DRHP Again
In June, 2026, NSE filed DRHP for its IPO with securities and exchange board of India on Wednesday. The entirely Offer for Sale (OFS) issue consists of 14.89 crore shares; State Bank of India will be offloading 2.475 crore shares, making it the largest seller.
In July, 2026, SEBI gave its in-principle approval to settle the NSE's co-location and dark fibre cases for Rs 1,491.21 crore, bringing an end to the decade long case. In an exchange filing, NSE said SEBI accepted its revised settlement proposal through an email dated July 30, 2026, and directed the exchange to pay the remaining Rs 714.74 crore to complete the settlement.
In September, 2026, SEBI issued observations on NSE's DRHP, clearing a key regulatory hurdle for the IPO.
What's next for NSE IPO?
Sources told NDTV Profit that NSE is expected to announce the price band for its IPO on September 11 and is also looking to list in the third week of this month.
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