The highly anticipated NSE IPO is rumored to launch this month, with reports pointing to an issue window around September 21–23, 2026, and a potential listing by September 25. 

NSE IPO GMP : Unknown

SEBI has cleared the National Stock Exchange's IPO offer document, removing the last big regulatory hurdle for the country's largest bourse to go public. The issue is estimated at around Rs 30,000 crore, which would make it the biggest IPO India has seen, ahead of Hyundai Motor India's Rs 27,870 crore offer in October 2024.

This is entirely an offer for sale. Existing shareholders together are selling close to 15 crore shares. The price band gets announced just before the offer opens, and market sources expect the launch in the second half of the month.

What the valuation looks like

In the unofficial, unlisted market where IPO-bound shares change hands, NSE has been quoting between Rs 1,950 and Rs 2,050. If the issue is priced at the lower end of that range, NSE would be valued at around Rs 4.8 lakh crore, roughly $51 billion at the current exchange rate. That is a serious number for any Indian listing.

Who is selling

Since this is a pure OFS, it helps to know who is cashing out:

  • SBI group is the largest seller, offloading nearly 1.6 crore shares. Its arm SBI Capital Markets is selling another 87.8 lakh shares.
  • MS Strategic (Mauritius) is selling 1.6 crore shares.
  • Canada Pension Plan Investment Board is selling nearly 1.2 crore shares.
  • Aranda Investments (Mauritius) is selling a little over 1.1 crore shares.
  • Bank of Baroda is offloading about 1.1 crore shares.

Several state-backed insurers are trimming stakes too: Stock Holding Corporation, General Insurance Corporation of India, New India Assurance, National Insurance, United India Insurance and Oriental Insurance.

Why this took so long

NSE had wanted to list for more than a decade but kept running into regulatory trouble and court cases. The biggest was the co-location and dark fibre matter, where a group of brokers got preferential access to derivatives trading data ahead of others and used it for illegal gains between 2014 and 2015. In July, SEBI agreed to settle those cases for a total payment of Rs 1,491 crore. That settlement is what finally opened the door to the IPO.

The bigger picture for 2026

IPO fundraising has been climbing. Companies raised about Rs 1.7 lakh crore in 2024 and Rs 1.9 lakh crore in 2025. So far 2026 sits at roughly Rs 0.5 lakh crore, but with NSE's Rs 30,000 crore and Jio's expected Rs 37,000 crore both lined up, the year could top the 2025 record.

A few other issues are queued for the rest of 2026. Zepto is looking to raise around Rs 11,000 crore, and Hero FinCorp about Rs 3,700 crore. For scale, LIC's 2022 issue raised Rs 21,000 crore, and Hyundai Motor India's Rs 27,870 crore in October 2024 still holds the current record, the one NSE is set to break.

Planning to apply once the price band is out, or watching how the grey market values it first? Share your take below.