NSE IPO: A total of 38 companies, including SBI Funds Management and Manipal Health Enterprises, filed preliminary IPO documents with SEBI in March 2026. This signals growing confidence among issuers — a trend to which regulatory timelines have also contributed.
This marks a sharp jump from 22 filings in March 2025 and 16 in March 2024, data from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) showed, indicating a stronger pipeline of public issues.
Of the 38 companies that filed their draft papers with Sebi, a total of 9 firms, including Zetwerk, SNVA Traveltech, Rediff.com India, Torrent Gas, Synergy Advanced Metals, Garuda Aerospace, and Sohan Lal Commodity Management, opted for the confidential filing route.
According to an Axis Capital report, as many as 64 companies have filed Draft Red Herring Prospectuses (DRHPs) wth Sebi and are awaiting clearance, while 124 companies have already received regulatory approval but are yet to hit the market. Another 20 firms have filed confidential DRHPs since March 2025.
The report further noted that FY2025-26 (up to March-end) saw 109 mainboard IPOs, of which 69 listed above their issue price, while three companies were yet to debut on the exchanges as of March 31, 2026.
The IPO market is expected to gain further momentum in the first quarter of FY2026-27, supported by a robust pipeline, with a large number of companies both awaiting Sebi approval and holding valid approvals for launch, it added.
So far in 2026, 18 companies have launched IPOs, with 8 issues hitting the market in March alone despite volatile market conditions and geopolitical tensions.
On the other hand, digital payments company PhonePe temporarily deferred its public market listing process due to the current geopolitical conflicts and market volatility. However, Sameer Nigam, PhonePe’s CEO, stated the company remains committed to a public listing in India.
Market participants said the spike reflects a combination of improved issuer confidence and regulatory considerations.
Feroze Azeez, Joint CEO at Anand Rathi Wealth, said the surge cannot be attributed to timelines alone.
“It is a mix of both issuer confidence and regulatory compliance pushing filings before March-end, but it would be too simplistic to attribute it only to timelines,” he said.
Echoing a nuanced view, Pratik Loonker, MD & Head- ECM and Co-Head- Financial Sponsor Group at Axis Capital, said the trend is driven more by preparedness than outright confidence.
“Given regulatory approval timelines and the difficulty of timing markets, companies are filing early to stay ready for favourable windows as they emerge. Regulatory approvals are valid for up to 12 months,” he said.
Typically, companies tend to file towards the end of the financial year to keep their approval window open. However, the scale of filings this time is notable, with more than a dozen firms submitting DRHPs in the last two days of March alone, Azeez added.
Importantly, the quality of companies entering the IPO pipeline also points to improving sentiment.
According to sources, new-age insurance distribution platform Turtlemint is on track with its IPO plans and has received encouraging investor feedback in recent weeks. Institutional investors have already begun preparatory processes, with the company eyeing a launch in the next available market window.
The momentum is expected to continue, with several high-profile companies, including the National Stock Exchange (NSE) and Reliance Industries’ telecom arm Jio, preparing to submit their draft papers in the coming weeks, according to merchant banking sources.
Earlier in January this year, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) granted a no-objection certificate (NOC), allowing the exchange to move ahead with its listing plans after more than a decade of delays.
In 2016, the NSE first filed draft offer documents to raise about Rs 10,000 crore through an offer-for-sale by existing shareholders. However, Sebi had withheld approval following governance concerns and the co-location case. Since then, the exchange approached the regulator multiple times seeking clearance.
Ranked as the global leader in derivatives trading, NSE often competes with NYSE and NASDAQ in transaction volume. However, the timing of the IPO coincides with a tightening regulatory environment.
The Union Budget 2026 introduced significant hikes in the Securities Transaction Tax (STT) on Futures and Options (F&O), with tax on futures rising to 0.05 per cent and options premium to 0.15 per cent.
NSE sets modest fee for its USD 2.5 billion IPO
The NSE has set advisory fees at about 0.65 per cent of the issue size for its upcoming initial public offering, Bloomberg News reported, as said by people familiar with the matter.
Based on an expected deal size of about USD 2.5 billion, the total fee pool could be about USD 16.25 million, with the bulk likely to be shared among the six lead banks, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private.
That compares with a roughly 1.86 per cent average paid by 417 companies last year and 1.67 per cent by 350 issuers in 2024, according to data from LSEG.
(Disclaimer: The above article is meant for informational purposes only, and should not be considered as any investment advice. ET NOW DIGITAL suggests its readers/audience to consult their financial advisors before making any money-related decisions.)
