Decade-Long Wait To End Soon? NSE Sets Early June Window For Filing Papers For IPO

National Stock Exchange (NSE) has inched one step closer to filing draft papers for its initial public offering. The much-awaited public issue is expected to open in the next few months as the exchange is looking to file its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) in the first half of June 2026, according to a report by the Economic Times, which cited people familiar with the matter.

According to the report, NSE recently discussed the timeline for floating the public issue with bankers and is looking to file draft papers with the Securities Exchange Board of India between June 5 and June 15.

NSE IPO: Key Details

Once Sebi approves the draft papers, NSE’s public issue is likely to be the largest public issue in history and is also expected to unlock value for the exchange’s institutional backers. According to a report by Angel One, NSE’s IPO is likely to be structured entirely as an Offer for Sale (OFS) with up to 5 per cent share dilution by existing shareholders. Existing investors such as Temasek, the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB), Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), and ChrysCapital will participate in the OFS.

NSE IPO’s Delayed Timeline

The filing of NSE’s DRHP indicates the possible end of a nearly decade-long struggle for India’s premier stock exchange. Notably, the exchange first filed its draft papers to offload a 22 per cent stake to raise Rs 10,000 crore in December 2016. However, the listing process was halted mid-way by Sebi in 2017 as details of the probe in the high-profile co-location server scam emerged. Sebi found in its probe that select algorithmic traders allegedly received preferential, faster system access to the exchange’s servers.

Following the probe, the regulatory freeze on the public issue lasted several years as further investigations continued. Following the probe, the public issue regained momentum in late 2024 and 2025 as NSE reviewed and revamped its algorithmic and Trading Access Point architecture and paid a penalty of Rs 1,800 crore rupees to Sebi.

The hurdles were cleared on February 6, when Sebi finally issued its formal No-Objection Certificate (NOC) to the NSE board, followed by a comprehensive shareholder meet on May 25 to finalise administrative amendments.

Primary Market’s Dry Spell

News related to the public issue of NSE comes at a crucial point for Indian capital markets. Following 2025’s record fundraise via mainboard listings, the primary market has undergone a dry spell in the first five months of 2026 as public issues remained heavily restricted to small and medium enterprise offerings.

However, it is likely that NSE’s public issue could come at a time when the broader market expects a revival in primary market activity. Apart from NSE filing its draft papers, the public issue of Hexagon Nutrition is  also slated to open for subscription in early June; the two developments are likely to signal an end to the dry spell.