India’s capital markets regulator SEBI has issued a No-Objection Certificate (NOC) to the National Stock Exchange (NSE) for its much-awaited initial public offering (IPO), marking a major breakthrough after nearly a decade of regulatory delays linked to governance and co-location issues.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has granted a No-Objection Certificate (NOC) to the National Stock Exchange (NSE) for its long-awaited initial public offering (IPO). The approval brings significant relief to the country’s largest stock exchange, whose listing plans had been stalled for nearly ten years due to regulatory hurdles and the co-location controversy.
According to reports, NSE had first filed its draft offer document in 2016, aiming to raise around ₹10,000 crore. The proposed IPO was structured as an Offer for Sale (OFS) by existing shareholders.
However, concerns related to corporate governance and allegations in the co-location case prompted SEBI to withhold approval at the time. Since then, NSE has made multiple attempts to secure regulatory clearance for its public listing.
Reacting to the development, NSE Chairman Srinivas Injeti described SEBI’s approval as a significant milestone in the exchange’s growth journey. He said that with SEBI’s consent, NSE is entering a new phase of value creation for all stakeholders. He added that the approval reinforces confidence in NSE’s crucial role in India’s economy and capital markets.
Earlier this month, SEBI Chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey had indicated that the regulator had granted in-principle approval to NSE’s settlement application in the unfair market access (co-location) case. This was widely seen as a major step toward clearing the path for the IPO.
Pandey had also suggested that the NOC could be issued within about a month. NSE had submitted its settlement plea in June 2025.
The co-location case involved allegations that certain brokers received preferential access to NSE’s trading systems, which kept the exchange’s listing plans on hold for several years. After prolonged legal proceedings, NSE offered to pay ₹1,388 crore in 2025 to settle the case.
The proposed NSE IPO is expected to be one of the largest IPOs in Indian capital market history. Analysts estimate NSE’s valuation in the unlisted grey market at over ₹5 lakh crore, with the exchange currently having around 1.77 lakh shareholders.
NSE Managing Director and CEO Ashish Kumar Chauhan said that the in-principle approval is a positive signal. He confirmed that following the receipt of the NOC, NSE will begin the process of filing its Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP).
According to him, the DRHP could be filed around four months after receiving the NOC, and subject to regulatory approvals, the IPO could hit the market within the next 7–8 months.