The National Stock Exchange of India Ltd (NSE) has formally requested proposals from investment banks to manage its initial public offering, according to two people familiar with the matter.
The exchange plans to select advisers before April, one of the above mentioned people said, asking not to be identified as the information is private.
The company might see a 4-4.5% stake sale, which might take up to eight months, chief executive officer Ashishkumar Chauhan had told reporters earlier this month.
Both people quoted above said that the process is still in early stages and the timelines and details can change going ahead.
This marks the latest development in the country’s largest stock exchange’s efforts to list on the bourses after a prolonged delay.
“Pursuant to the NOC issued by Sebi, the board approved an initial public offering of the company through an offer for sale on 6 February 2026. No further comments at this stage,” an NSE spokesperson said over email when Mint reached out for comments.
The move to issue a formal request for proposal follows the 30 January “no-objection” notification from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), which ended a regulatory delay that had lasted nearly a decade. The NSE board approved the listing plan on 6 February, appointing a committee led by Life Insurance Corp. of India’s (LIC) former managing director, Tablesh Pandey. Pandey currently serves as a non-independent director on the exchange’s board. Pandey, who retired as LIC’s managing director effective 31 May 2025, is also a director of ITC Hotels Ltd.
India’s largest life insurer is the single-largest shareholder with a 10.7% stake as of December-end.
Other members of the committee include NSE’s newly-appointed chairperson, Srinivas Injeti; public interest directors Mamata Biswal, Abhilasha Kumari, and G. Sivakumar; and CEO Chauhan.
Such a panel is mandatory for companies without promoters looking to go public.
The offer will see stake sale by existing shareholders, the company had said then. NSE’s proposed IPO will see shares carry a face value of ₹1 each, the exchange had notified.
NSE had then appointed Rothschild & Co. to advise the exchange on the IPO process
The exchange’s third-quarter profit rose 15% sequentially to ₹2,409 crore, while its revenue from operations increased 7% to ₹3,925 crore.
NSE’s operating income, or earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (Ebitda), almost doubled to ₹2,851 crore, while its margin widened to 73% from the September quarter’s 40%.
The margin improved as other expenses fell to ₹542 crore from ₹1,811 crore, driven by one-time provisioning in the prior quarter.
