The performance was driven by robust macroeconomic fundamentals and expanding retail participation, which helped shield the domestic market from global challenges and foreign portfolio investor (FPI) outflows. India also retained its position as the world’s largest IPO market by number of issues during FY2025-26, while ranking third globally in terms of funds raised, according to the Securities and Exchange Board of India’s (SEBI) Annual Report for 2025-26.
SEBI Chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey said the primary equity market continued to demonstrate strong momentum despite geopolitical conflicts, trade tensions, volatile capital flows and rapid technological changes, with India maintaining its global leadership in IPO activity by number of listings.
While overall equity fundraising through IPOs and FPOs remained almost the same at ₹1.9 lakh crore, the total number of newly listed companies grew from 320 to 366. Notably, main board IPOs successfully raised ₹1.8 lakh crore, an 8.9% increase over the previous year.
The small and medium enterprises platform continued its momentum, listing 257 companies and raising ₹11,587 crore, an 18.1% increase from the past year. Preferential allotments also experienced substantial growth, surging by 76.3% to reach ₹1,48,219 crore.
Conversely, Qualified Institutional Placements plummeted by 50% to ₹67,853 crore, though the average issue size grew significantly. Additionally, the Social Stock Exchange expanded its footprint, as five non-profit organisations raised ₹21.9 crore, up from the ₹14.8 crore mobilised in the preceding year.
This came even as overall primary market mobilisation, spanning equity, debt, and hybrid avenues, declined by 4.4% to ₹13.6 lakh crore during the year. Although this represents a fall from the preceding year, the overall performance underscores the primary market’s vital role as a catalyst for national economic growth.
On the debt side, total funds mobilised through debt issuances fell by 8.4% to ₹9,11,078 crore, primarily triggered by a hardening of corporate bond yields and widespread risk aversion amid macroeconomic uncertainties.
To support capital formation, SEBI introduced several reforms during the year, including restructuring the minimum public offer framework by linking public float requirements to issue size. The regulator also extended the timeline for the largest listed companies to achieve the mandatory 25% minimum public shareholding to 10 years and allowed founders of new-age companies to retain pre-IPO employee stock option plans (ESOPs), while maintaining investor protection and transparency.
The figures highlight the resilience of India’s public equity markets, which continued to attract robust capital-raising activity even as other avenues of fundraising recorded declines during the same period. According to Pandey, India’s capital markets will play a critical role in financing the country’s long-term infrastructure, manufacturing and energy transition needs, with SEBI focusing on strengthening equity, corporate bond and alternative investment markets to support India’s goal of becoming a developed economy by 2047.
