NSE IPO on Track: DRHP Work to Begin After SEBI's Official NOC

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has recently cleared the way for the NSE IPO in principle. SEBI Chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey had said that the Board is at a very advanced stage of issuing the No Objection Certificate (NOC).

"Once the NOC from SEBI is received in reality and in paper, we will start working on our DRHP," Chauhan told ANI.

"We expect in around 3-4 months, we will prepare the DRHP and other papers including OFS... Effectively, it will take 8-9 months post approvals in terms of NOCs. Once we receive the NOC, we will be able to tell you the exact timeline and where we are on the process," he added.

The Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP) is typically a document that presents the company's financial details, future prospects, and other key aspects of the business, and is filed with the regulator to raise capital, essentially through public offerings of its shares.

Notably, the NSE has been seeking regulatory clearance for its public listing for several years, following governance concerns and the co-location controversy that came under SEBI's scrutiny.

NSE initially filed its Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP) in December 2016. The process was delayed by regulatory challenges, particularly allegations of unfair access to its algorithmic trading platform in India. Later in August 2024, the NSE reapplied to the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) for a no-objection certificate to proceed with its IPO.

In October 2024, the NSE settled its Trading Access Point (TAP) Architecture and Network Connectivity case by paying a penalty of Rs 643 crore to SEBI, which was probing an alleged deficiency on the part of the exchange and its top officials to deal with a situation wherein some high-frequency stock traders were found to be gaming the system.

- ANI