According to CNBC-TV18, the Securities and Exchange Board of India has issued a no-objection certificate (NOC) for the National Stock Exchange IPO, clearing a critical regulatory hurdle for the exchange’s long-pending public listing.
SEBI Chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey has indicated that the NOC has been granted by month-end, effectively bringing regulatory closure to a process that has remained stalled for nearly a decade. The development allows NSE to move ahead with the next stages of its IPO journey, including initiating formal listing procedures and filing its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP).
NSE had first filed its IPO papers in December 2016, but the listing was delayed due to a series of governance and compliance-related issues. These included the co-location controversy, allegations of preferential access to certain traders, concerns around trading access point architecture, and broader governance lapses flagged by the regulator. The exchange has since addressed several of these issues and settled key disputes, including payment of penalties linked to earlier violations.
The regulatory clearance is being viewed as a major milestone, as it removes the final uncertainty around SEBI’s stance on the IPO. With the NOC now in place, the responsibility shifts to NSE to take the listing process forward, bringing one of India’s most anticipated public offerings closer to fruition.
The NSE IPO, once launched, is expected to be among the most significant listings in India’s capital markets, given the exchange’s central role in equity and derivatives trading and its dominance in the domestic market infrastructure.
