The decade-long wait is officially over. The National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) has formally filed its Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP) with SEBI, setting the stage for what will be the largest Initial Public Offering (IPO) in Indian corporate history.

Estimated at ₹30,000 crore, the jumbo issue will comfortably eclipse the previous record held by Hyundai Motor India’s ₹27,859 crore market debut in 2024. Given the unique regulatory restriction that prevents a stock exchange from self-listing, the NSE will list its shares exclusively on its rival platform, the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).

Key IPO Highlights & Structural Details

The issue represents a massive liquidity event for institutional legacy backers, but introduces no structural dilution for the exchange itself.

• 100% Offer for Sale (OFS): The public offering consists entirely of an OFS of up to 14,89,05,525 equity shares (face value of ₹1 each), representing nearly a 6% stake in the exchange.
• Zero Fresh Capital: Because it is completely an OFS, the NSE will not receive a single rupee from the IPO proceeds. All capital raised will flow straight to the selling shareholders.
• The Valuation Multiplier: Based on active grey market trades hovering around ₹1,950 to ₹2,200 per share, the market cap of the NSE is projected to comfortably exceed ₹5 lakh crore ($60 billion) upon listing. This will immediately propel the exchange operator into the ranks of India’s top 10 most valuable corporations.

Who is Selling (and Who is Sitting Tight)?

The DRHP discloses a list of 23 institutional entities paring down their stakes, alongside notable decisions by some of India’s biggest financial heavyweights to stay put:

The Top Institutional Sellers

• State Bank of India (SBI): Leading the exit block, the country’s largest public sector bank will offload up to 2.48 crore shares. Because SBI originally acquired these shares in the early 1990s at an average cost of just 80 paise per share, it is on track to book a staggering 2,750-times return on its initial capital layout.
• Global & Private Backers: MS Strategic (Mauritius) is selling 1.60 crore shares, the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) is divesting 1.19 crore shares, and Aranda Investments is paring 1.12 crore shares.
• PSU Insurance Tranche: Bank of Baroda, Stock Holding Corporation of India, GIC Re, and The New India Assurance are all liquidating chunks of over 1 crore shares each. Remarkably, New India Assurance and National Insurance hold an original acquisition cost of just 32 paise per share, translating to an eye-watering 6,875-fold return.

The Holdouts

• LIC Stands Firm: Despite holding the crown as the single largest individual shareholder in the NSE with a dominant 10.72% stake, the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) has decided not to sell a single share in the OFS.
• High-Net-Worth Individuals (HNIs): As confirmed by private ledgers, marquee value investor Radhakishan Damani is similarly holding onto his entire 1.58% stake (~3.9 crore shares) post-listing, treating the exchange as a long-term compounder.

Core Financial Health: FY26 Baseline

The draft papers pulled back the curtain on the NSE’s audited financial health, showing a highly capital-light, near-monopolistic ecosystem experiencing minor structural consolidation ahead of the listing:

Despite the minor dip in top-line volumes compared to the roaring speculative peaks of FY25, the exchange’s underlying operational network has scaled at a massive pace. The unique registered investor base using the exchange has surged at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 26.9%, expanding from 3.1 crore users in 2020 to a massive 12.9 crore investors by March 2026, covering over 99% of India’s postal codes.

Backed by a powerful consortium of 20 book-running lead managers (including Kotak Mahindra, Morgan Stanley, and JPMorgan), the draft papers will spend the coming weeks under intense SEBI review before receiving the final green light to announce the official price band and subscription dates.