NSE IPO to Open on September 17: Price Band, GMP, Dates and Key Details

The National Stock Exchange (NSE) is set to open its much-awaited initial public offering (IPO) on September 17, nearly a decade after the exchange first began exploring a public listing. The issue will be an offer for sale, meaning existing shareholders will sell their holdings while NSE itself will not receive fresh capital from the IPO.

NSE has fixed the IPO price band at Rs 1,700 to Rs 1,785 per share. The subscription window will remain open until September 21, with anchor investor bidding scheduled for September 16. The exchange is expected to list its shares on or around September 24.

The IPO size has been reduced by more than 15% after some major shareholders lowered the number of shares they intend to sell. Despite the reduction, the issue is expected to value NSE at around $46 billion, making it one of the most closely watched listings in India’s capital markets.

NSE was established in 1992 after a series of stock market scandals highlighted weaknesses in India’s fragmented exchange system. It was created as an alternative to the regional stock exchanges that dominated the market at the time. Early investors included institutions such as the Life Insurance Corporation of India, IDBI and State Bank of India.

Today, NSE is India’s largest stock exchange. As of June 17, it had more than 2,000 registered members and over 2,200 listed companies. The companies listed on the exchange had a combined market capitalisation of approximately $5 trillion, according to exchange data.

NSE holds about 95% of India’s cash equity market and around 75% of the equity derivatives market. Its position is particularly strong in derivatives, with the exchange ranking as the world’s largest derivatives exchange by contracts traded. In 2025, it accounted for roughly 89% of global stock index options volumes, according to World Federation of Exchanges data.

The rapid expansion of options trading has played a major role in NSE’s financial growth. The exchange reported a profit of approximately Rs 10,300 crore, or $1.09 billion, for the financial year ended March 2026. However, profit was down about 15% compared with the previous year.

NSE’s revenue more than doubled between April 2019 and April 2026, reaching around Rs 18,700 crore. Transaction-related income contributes more than 80% of its total revenue, with derivatives accounting for a significant portion of that income.

This revenue structure distinguishes NSE from many major international exchanges, where transaction fees generally contribute a smaller share of total earnings and businesses such as technology and data services play a larger role. NSE’s heavy dependence on trading activity therefore remains an important consideration for investors evaluating the IPO.

The exchange’s journey towards a public listing has been prolonged by regulatory and governance issues. NSE had initially planned to list in 2016, but regulatory approval was not granted amid investigations into whether certain trading members had received equitable access to the exchange’s systems, along with other governance concerns.

In 2019, the Securities and Exchange Board of India imposed a penalty of around Rs 1,100 crore on NSE. The exchange and regulator have since remained involved in legal proceedings related to the matter. NSE has proposed an out-of-court settlement involving a payment of approximately $157 million, with the proposal currently under Sebi’s review, according to the IPO documents.

Meanwhile, the grey market premium for NSE shares has been moving lower ahead of the IPO. The GMP, an unofficial indicator of market sentiment, was Rs 310 on September 5 before declining to Rs 273 on September 6, Rs 221 on September 7 and Rs 257 on September 8. It subsequently fell to Rs 222 on September 9, Rs 192 on September 10 and Rs 190 on September 11.

At the upper IPO price of Rs 1,785, a GMP of Rs 190 suggests an estimated listing price of Rs 1,975. That would represent a potential gain of around 10.64% over the issue price. However, grey market premiums are unofficial and do not guarantee the actual listing price.

The NSE IPO is significant because it will bring one of India’s most important capital-market institutions to the public market. Its dominant position in cash equities and derivatives, rapid growth in options trading and strong profitability are likely to attract investor attention.

At the same time, NSE’s dependence on transaction income means its financial performance remains closely connected to trading volumes, particularly in derivatives. Investors are therefore likely to closely track the exchange’s valuation, IPO price band, profitability, market share and revenue structure when the issue opens on September 17.

Investors should independently assess the risks and prospects of the issue and consider consulting a qualified financial adviser before making investment or trading decisions.