After Years of Delay, NSE Moves to Close Cases Blocking IPO

The National Stock Exchange (NSE) is inching closer to its long-awaited stock market listing after a expert committee under Sebi approved the bourse's proposal to settle two major regulatory cases by paying around ₹1,800 crore, according to a report by the Economic Times.

The settlement covers the colocation and dark fibre cases, two of the most significant regulatory disputes that have blocked NSE's public listing for years. Sebi's high-powered advisory committee on settlement orders recently cleared NSE's application, the report said.

A Record-Breaking Settlement

If accepted by Sebi's panel of two whole-time members — the next step in the approval process — the ₹1,800 crore payout would be the largest settlement ever made with the regulator. The expert committee's recommendations are now awaiting that final decision.

The four-member committee is chaired by Jai Narayan Patel, former Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court. Its other members are N Venkatram, Country Chair of CDPQ India, SK Mohanty, former whole-time Sebi member and Sarit Jafa, former Deputy Comptroller and Auditor General. The panel is tasked with evaluating complex regulatory and legal settlement cases before forwarding recommendations to Sebi's senior leadership.

A Decade-Long Listing Delay

NSE first filed for its IPO with Sebi on October 18, 2016, making it one of India's longest-pending listings. The regulator had held back approval owing to concerns around the colocation case, governance issues, and technology-related lapses at the exchange.

Following Tuhin Kanta Pandey's appointment as Sebi Chairman in March 2025, the regulator set up an internal committee to revisit the NSE IPO matter. NSE had initially submitted settlement applications in June last year, proposing payments of over ₹1,300 crore-1,165 crore for the colocation case and ₹223 crore for the dark fibre case. The revised figure reflects subsequent discussions with the regulator, the Economic Times reported.

Notably, the NSE IPO is expected to be among India's largest-ever public offerings, with a projected issue size of ₹21,000-25,000 crore. The listing could value the exchange at over ₹4.7-5 lakh crore. NSE shares are currently trading in the unlisted market in the range of ₹1,900-2,050.

A Windfall for State-Owned Insurers

The development also holds significant implications for three state-owned general insurance companies. It was earlier reported that National Insurance Company, Oriental Insurance Company and United India Insurance Company sitting on sizeable stakes in NSE could find unexpected relief from the bourse's long-awaited listing. The three state-owned general insurers hold around 75 million NSE shares, a position that has remained largely dormant in value due to the exchange's unlisted status.

Should NSE go public at even a conservative price of ₹1,500 per share, the combined value of these holdings would clock in at ₹11,500-12,000 crore. Spread across the three companies, that works out to roughly ₹4,500 crore each, a capital that could lift their solvency ratios by close to 100 basis points, mirroring the effect of a direct government infusion of equivalent size.