The National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) is set to make its much-awaited stock-market debut on Thursday, September 24, 2026, after its ₹22,562-crore initial public offering received strong investor demand. The issue, India’s second-largest IPO after Hyundai Motor India’s 2024 offer, was subscribed 5.71 times overall.
Strong Subscription Across Categories
The three-day IPO, which closed on September 21, attracted bids for approximately 50.58 crore shares against 8.86 crore shares on offer. Institutional investors led the demand:
Qualified Institutional Buyers(QIBs): 12.68 times
Non-Institutional Investors (NIIs): 6.55 times
Retail Individual Investors: 1.39 times
Employee portion: around 2.40 times
The issue generated nearly ₹90,300 crore of demand against the offer size. Anchor investors, including LIC, Goldman Sachs, Fidelity and several sovereign wealth funds, had earlier subscribed to a significant portion of the issue.
The IPO was entirely an Offer for Sale (OFS) of about 12.64 crore shares by existing shareholders. NSE itself will not receive any proceeds. The price band was fixed at ₹1,700–₹1,785 per share, with a lot size of eight shares. At the upper end of the band, the issue valued NSE at approximately ₹4.42 lakh crore (around $46 billion), placing it among the world’s most valuable exchange operators
Shares are scheduled to list on the BSE (and potentially NSE) on September 24. The basis of allotment was finalised around September 22, with shares expected to be credited to successful applicants’ demat accounts on September 23.
Grey Market and Listing Expectations
Grey market premium (GMP) has moderated ahead of listing, indicating expectations of a modest premium over the issue price. Recent indications suggested a potential listing around ₹1,828–₹1,850, translating to a limited gain over the upper price band of ₹1,785.economictimes.
Significance of the Listing
NSE’s public listing marks the culmination of a nearly decade-long journey that faced regulatory delays. As India’s largest stock exchange by trading volumes, the listing brings one of the country’s most important financial market infrastructure institutions into the public domain. Investors will now be able to participate directly in the ownership of the exchange that handles the bulk of India’s equity and derivatives trading.
All eyes will be on the opening trade and subsequent price action on September 24 as NSE joins the ranks of listed exchange operators globally.