BSE Shares in Focus as NSE Files DRHP for India's Largest IPO

The Indian capital markets are bracing for a historic milestone as the National Stock Exchange (NSE) has filed its Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP) with SEBI. This move has immediately placed its primary rival, BSE, under the investor spotlight, sparking debates over valuation benchmarks and market competition.

A Landmark IPO Set to Redefine Market Valuations

The proposed NSE IPO is poised to become the largest in India's capital market history. Structured entirely as an Offer for Sale (OFS), the exchange intends to issue up to 14.89 crore equity shares with a face value of Re 1 each. This represents approximately 6% of NSE's total paid-up equity capital.

For investors in BSE, this development is significant because it provides a direct, market-based valuation benchmark. Previously, investors had to rely on unlisted market estimates to gauge NSE's worth. With the NSE listing expected in 2026, the market will finally have a transparent comparison between India's two largest exchange giants. In a unique twist of market irony, NSE's shares are slated to be listed on the BSE itself.

PSU Stakeholders to Monetise Holdings

The IPO is primarily a vehicle for several Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) to partially monetise their long-held stakes in the exchange. According to the DRHP, five government-owned entities are participating in the OFS, collectively offering roughly 2.37 crore shares.

The breakdown of the participating PSU shareholders is as follows:

Notably, other major stakeholders such as the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) will not participate in the sale, while private investors like Premji Invest and Radhakishan Damani are also retaining their existing holdings.

NSE’s Dominance in the Global Derivatives Market

The IPO comes at a time when NSE continues to demonstrate massive operational scale and cash-generating capabilities. According to the World Federation of Exchanges, NSE remains the world's largest equity derivatives exchange, recording over 36.99 billion contracts traded during Fiscal 2026.

The exchange has also been a consistent provider of returns to its shareholders through robust dividends. Following an FY24 dividend of Rs 18 per share (on a bonus-adjusted basis), the exchange increased its payout to Rs 35 per share for both FY25 and FY26. As of March 2026, NSE maintained its position as India's leader in cash market turnover and ranked as the third-largest exchange globally by the number of trades in cash equities.

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