Sebi Clears Long-Awaited NSE IPO; Shareholders to Eye Secondary Sale

India’s National Stock Exchange (NSE) has secured a crucial regulatory green signal as the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has issued a no-objection certificate (NoC) for the exchange’s initial public offering (IPO), effectively reviving plans stalled for nearly a decade.

The market regulator’s clearance allows NSE, the country’s largest bourse, to formally engage merchant bankers and legal advisors to prepare and file its draft red-herring prospectus (DRHP). With the NoC in hand, the IPO process could span another 8-9 months. Unlike typical public issues, NSE’s listing will be an offer-for-sale (OFS), meaning existing investors will sell shares rather than the exchange raising fresh capital.

All of NSE’s roughly 190,000 existing shareholders are expected to be offered the option to participate in the secondary sale. Major stakeholders such as Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) with about 10.7 % and Singapore’s Temasek Holdings with around 4.5 % are likely to be key sellers, alongside SBI and SBI Capital Markets.

The IPO follows governance and regulatory concerns, including the long-running co-location and dark fibre cases that previously hindered listing efforts. NSE’s unlisted share price currently implies a valuation north of ₹5 trillion.

With Sebi’s approval now secured, the exchange is moving closer to finalising IPO timing and share sale structure, marking a significant milestone for India’s capital markets.