It was not an ordinary press conference. Why? Because the details of the IPO about to be announced at New Delhi’s posh Taj Man Singh hotel concerned was none other than India’s highly anticipated issue of the National Stock Exchange (NSE).
On a busy day of sharing details and answering a host of questions, NSE MD and CEO Ashishkumar Chauhan answered a very important question: Why couldn’t the NSE IPO become India’s biggest IPO ever?
NSE was initially expected to break all records and become India’s biggest-ever IPO by issue size, at nearly ₹30,000 crore, surpassing Hyundai Motor India’s IPO ( ₹27,858.75 crore) and LIC’s IPO ( ₹20,557.23 crore). However, the NSE IPO eventually became the second-largest IPO in Indian stock market history, with an issue size of ₹22,562 crore.
NSE MD and CEO Ashishkumar Chauhan spoke exclusively to LiveMint. Here are the edited excerpts:
Q: Initially, it was touted as India’s biggest IPO, but somehow it became India’s second-biggest IPO. How do you see this?
NSE MD-CEO Ashishkumar Chauhan: Overall, it’s again based on the circumstances. The merchant bankers advised us to reduce the price, based on which some of our investors also reduced their offers. We were starting with 6.2%; it has now become 5.11% because of the reduction in price. The selling shareholders were not willing to sell at the lower price, but some of them agreed in the interest of going forward with the IPO.
Q: When you were first planning to come up with the NSE IPO, what was the response from all the stakeholders and bankers?
Ashishkumar Chauhan: Most people don’t want to sell, right? Because this is considered a very important activity—a stock exchange—and NSE is sort of at the centre of it. That’s why most sellers who have been holding on for years, literally decades, don’t want to sell.
It’s just that we had to request them because we did not want money to come into NSE’s pocket, as we end up actually distributing a lot of dividends. This year also, we are distributing almost ₹8,000 crore. The previous year, it was ₹8,000 crore. So, we don’t need money; we are highly profitable.
That’s why we requested some of our old shareholders to give up a little bit of their shares so that we could complete the formality of an IPO. That’s why they reluctantly gave them. They were even taken aback a little by the lower price at which we are going with the IPO.
NSE IPO attracts over ₹90,200 crore of demand against ₹22,562 crore issue size
The Initial Public Offering (IPO) of the National Stock Exchange of India was subscribed 5.71 times on the final day of bidding.
The issue received 38.5 lakh applications, with bids for 50,58,11,384 equity shares against the 8,86,42,911 equity shares on offer, according to data available on the stock exchanges.
The Retail and Qualified Institutional Buyers (QIB) portions were subscribed 1.39 times and 12.68 times, respectively.
The Non-Institutional Investors (NII) portion was subscribed 6.55 times, while the Employee portion was subscribed 2.40 times.
NSE IPO Listing
NSE shares will start trading on Thursday. And, the NSE IPO has come at a time when India’s primary market is picking up, with billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Jio Platforms likely to list later this year in what could be the country’s biggest-ever stock offering – issue size pegged at around ₹37,700 crore.
GMP hints at listing gains
The grey market premium (GMP) for NSE shares indicates gains of 2% to 5% on trading debut. (The grey market is an unregulated market that allows investors to trade IPO shares before the official listing.)
NSE has set a price band of 1,700 rupees to 1,785 rupees apiece for its shares.
Disclaimer: This story is for educational purposes only. The views and recommendations made above are those of individual analysts or broking companies,…More
About the Author
Prashant V. Singh is the Editor and Head of LiveMint and LiveMint Hindi at HT Media Group, bringing nearly two decades of core business journalism, digital transformation, and newsroom innovation experience. A pioneer in digital-first news operations, video-first storytelling, and the integration of artificial intelligence in media, Singh shapes overarching editorial strategies for some of India’s most influential financial information platforms.
Throughout his distinguished career, Singh has held key editorial leadership positions across India’s premier media conglomerates. Before joining HT Media Group, he served as Deputy Executive Editor at Business Today (India Today Group), Senior Editor – Business at Times Network (ET NOW & ET NOW Swadesh), Assistant Editor at The Financial Express, and held crucial editorial roles at Zee Business and Network18 (CNN-IBN).
Singh is widely recognized for his expertise in next-gen newsroom technology. At Business Today, he led the operational deployment of generative AI software systems—including Frammer and proprietary tools like Pragya AI—to optimize story creation, multi-platform distribution, and audience reach. A versatile multi-format journalist, his work seamlessly spans deep text journalism, broadcast television, video exclusives, podcasts, and data-led macroeconomic reporting.
His professional credentials also include specialized training and executive programs from global media bodies, such as leadership and digital transformation modules from INMA (International News Media Association) and specialized journalism courses from Reuters.
He has steered extensive coverage across 13 Indian Union Budgets, over 80 RBI MPC Monetary Policy reviews, more than 72 US Federal Reserve (FOMC) meetings, and over 150 major IPO listings. Academically, Singh holds a Post-Graduate Diploma in Business Management (PGDBM) in International Business from IMT Ghaziabad, a Master’s degree in Mass Communication and Journalism, an undergraduate background in core sciences, and an advanced certification in Generative AI for Skill Enhancement from Bennett University.
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