NSE listing can take place in 8-9 months after receiving SEBI's NoC: CEO Ashish Chauhan

NSE IPO

NSE CEO Ashish Chauhan in a recent interview said that the stock exchange can be listed within the next eight to nine months after receiving the necessary no objection certificate (NoC) from market regulator SEBI.

"Once SEBI gives the no objection certificate, which is the minimum we require as a regulated entity by SEBI, we will then prepare the DRHP in probably 4 months, and then submit to another department of SEBI who will probably take another four months to go through it and ask us queries if any," he told CNBC-TV18.

Chauhan highlighted that the work has already been in progress as NSE had filed its first DRHP in 2016. "We are already 100% public. I have, like, 1.72 lakh shareholders already. Zero percent is with any promoter," he said.

NSE's IPO plans have seen significant delays for around 9 years. The exchange had first filed its draft papers in 2016. NSE had written to SEBI for a NoC in November 2019, twice in 2020 and thereafter in August 2024 as well. However, the NoC was delayed due to some cases, including those related to co-location and dark fiber.

In August this year, NSE settled few minor cases with SEBI by paying Rs 40.35 crore. These cases pertain to outsourcing of certain activities, issues in client code modifications, sharing of unpublished price-sensitive corporate announcements and shortcomings related to the review of error trades, among others.

NSE had filed a consent application on June 20 to settle the long-pending co-location and dark fiber case with Sebi in order to obtain a No Objection Certificate (NoC) for its proposed IPO. The exchange is expected to settle the matter by paying Rs 1,400 crore to SEBI. The application is currently under review, and a resolution is expected soon.

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