NSE IPO: SEBI chief Tuhin Kanta Pandey hints at NoC approval within this month

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) is at a “very advanced stage” of issuing a no-objection certificate (NoC) for the long-pending initial public offering (IPO) of the National Stock Exchange (NSE), SEBI Chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey said.

While stopping short of committing to a firm timeline, Pandey indicated that the clearance could come soon. “It may be done within this month,” he said, according to ANI, signalling that the regulatory process is nearing completion.

The NSE has been seeking approval for its IPO for nearly a decade, after governance lapses and the co-location controversy drew regulatory scrutiny. The exchange first filed its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) in December 2016, but the plan was put on hold following allegations that certain brokers received unfair access to its algorithmic trading platform.

In August 2024, the NSE reapplied to SEBI for the NoC after addressing several outstanding regulatory issues. A key milestone came in October 2024, when the exchange settled the Trading Access Point (TAP) architecture and network connectivity case by paying a penalty of ₹643 crore.

Pandey noted that since then, the NSE has undertaken multiple corrective measures, including changes in senior management, board restructuring, strengthening of compliance frameworks and resolution of past regulatory concerns.

SEBI whole-time member Ananth Narayan G Chauhan also highlighted that the NSE already has a broad public shareholding base of about 1.72 lakh shareholders and no promoter stake, underscoring that the exchange is institutionally structured for listing once regulatory approvals are secured.

The IPO process has faced repeated delays since the initial DRHP filing in 2016. The NSE sought the NoC multiple times — once in 2019, twice in 2020, and again in August 2024 — but progress was stalled due to unresolved regulatory issues, including cases related to co-location and dark fibre access. The exchange has since been working to address these matters as part of its continued engagement with SEBI.