of India (NSE) may receive a go-ahead from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) to file its Draft Red Herring Prospectus (
DRHP) by the end of July 2025, paving the way for a highly anticipated stock
market listing by the fourth quarter of the current financial year, according to
Motilal Oswal Private Wealth.The financial services firm noted that the clearance to file the DRHP is likely to follow a “proposed settlement to resolve the long-standing co-location and dark fiber disputes.” Once Sebi issues a no-objection certificate, the exchange is expected to take four to five months to prepare its DRHP, followed by another two to three months of regulatory scrutiny, Motilal Oswal Private Wealth said. If all goes smoothly, NSE could be listed on the BSE in Q4 FY2026.
This projected timeline aligns with recent remarks from Sebi Chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey, who said on June 21 that there is “no obstacle” that remains in the way of the
NSE IPO. Speaking at the FE CFO Awards, Pandey made it clear that the exchange had cleared the final regulatory hurdles, marking a turning point in the long-delayed listing process.Sebi’s decision to shelve earlier proposals aimed at separating clearing corporations from stock exchanges removed a major roadblock. The regulator is now reportedly comfortable with the existing ownership structure and is not pressing for structural separation—a sticking point that had held back the IPO for years.
Pandey had also acknowledged that while certain legal and financial settlements were still in process, these were not expected to be deal-breakers. NSE has already paid Rs 640 crore to Sebi in October 2024 to settle an older case, and a broader proposal reportedly involving Rs 1,000 crore has been floated to resolve other legacy matters.
The listing would mark the culmination of a nearly decade-long journey for NSE, which first filed draft IPO papers in 2016 to raise around Rs 10,000 crore through a 22% stake sale by existing shareholders. Since then, regulatory scrutiny and unresolved disputes have kept India’s largest stock exchange from going public, even as its unlisted shares remained hot property in the grey market.In a key recent move, NSE removed the ISIN freeze from March 24, 2025, allowing investors to trade its shares freely like other unlisted shares. This change has significantly improved liquidity in the private market and reduced the share transfer approval process from three months to just a day, according to Motilal Oswal.Backed by dominant market share and robust financial performance, NSE appears to be listing at a position of strength. The exchange commands a 94% share in cash equities, 99% in equity index futures, and 88% in equity index options premium.
The NSE reported a 17% year-on-year rise in total income to Rs 19,177 crore in FY25, with revenue from operations growing 16% to Rs 17,141 crore. Net profit surged 47% to Rs 12,188 crore, reflecting “strong operational performance and strategic initiatives undertaken by the exchange,” the financial services firm noted.
The EBITDA margin stood at 74% for FY25, while return on equity hit 45%. In Q4 FY25, the exchange posted a net profit of Rs 2,650 crore despite a revenue drop of 18% from the year-ago period, due to volume declines in the cash and derivatives markets. NSE declared a dividend of Rs 35 per share, including a special one-time payout of Rs 11.46.
The financial services firm also pointed to the relatively low retail participation in Indian equity markets, estimated at just 3–4, as a major opportunity for future growth. “Even a modest increase in this percentage would translate into substantial gains for NSE,” Motilal Oswal said.
Recent regulatory tightening around F&O trading has led to more stable volumes, with average daily turnover in options rising from Rs 479 billion in February 2025 to Rs 582 billion in April 2025. The shift to higher-ticket, non-expiry contracts and improved premium ratios have helped soften the topline impact, and margins may improve further with lower clearing costs and Sebi fees.
At an estimated market capitalisation of nearly Rs 5.94 lakh crore based on current unlisted share prices of Rs 2,400 apiece, NSE’s IPO could be one of the largest in Indian capital market history.
With the Sebi chairman’s public assurance and a clear settlement path emerging, the exchange’s long-awaited public debut now appears to be not a question of if, but when.
Also read | NSE IPO clears final regulatory hurdles, as SEBI Chief Tuhin Kanta Pandey says no obstacle remains
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