The Securities and Exchange Board of India is set to issue an approval for the long awaited NSE IPO, thereby clearing the decks for the country’s largest stock market to list on the exchanges.
The approval could come as early as this month. “We will soon issue a NOC (no objection certificate) to NSE, and after that they will start preparation,” SEBI Chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey told reporters in Chennai on Saturday, 10 January 2026.
The approval, which he said would be issued this month, will allow the NSE to prepare its IPO prospectus and is a crucial step in gaining IPO approval given the dispute between two sides.
The National Stock Exchange, which is also the world’s most active derivatives exchange, has been in litigation with SEBI since 2019 when it was fined ₹1,100 crore (~$122.04 million) for failing to provide equitable access to all its trading members. NSE offered $160 million to settle the matter, Reuters had reported in June.
NSE had first filed its draft red herring prospectus, or DRHP, in December 2016. The process was delayed by regulatory challenges, particularly allegations of unfair access to its algorithmic trading platform in India.
In August 2024, NSE reapplied to SEBI for an NOC to proceed with its IPO.
In October 2024, the NSE settled its Trading Access Point (TAP) Architecture and Network Connectivity case by paying a penalty of ₹643 crore to SEBI. The matter pertains to illegal access to NSE’s algo-trading platforms.
With inputs from Reuters.