NBFCs, healthcare, tech drive a record year for India's IPO market

IPO Juggernaut Rolls On as 2025 Smashes Fundraising Records

India’s IPO market hit fresh highs in 2025, led by strong fundraising from healthcare, technology and non-banking financial companies. These sectors emerged as the biggest contributors to new listings during the year. The sector-led surge helped push India’s primary market to its biggest fundraising year on record, showed a report by Motilal Oswal.

Indian companies raised around Rs 1.95 lakh crore through more than 365 IPOs in 2025, surpassing the previous year’s record of Rs 1.90 lakh crore raised through 336 issues. Together, 2024 and 2025 have seen nearly Rs 3.8 lakh crore mobilised through over 700 IPOs, making this one of the most active phases for India’s primary market.

Mainboard takes the lead

While smaller and SME IPOs dominated the market in terms of sheer count, it was the mainboard that drove fundraising in value terms. In 2025, just over 100 mainboard IPOs accounted for nearly 94 percent of the total funds raised. Large, established companies continued to attract the bulk of investor capital, reinforcing the importance of big-ticket listings in anchoring the IPO market.

The year also saw one of the biggest IPOs in Indian history, with Tata Capital raising over Rs 15,500 crore. While it did not beat the record set by Hyundai’s massive issue in 2024, it underlined the growing confidence of large, established firms in tapping public markets.

Broader mix of sectors

One striking shift over the past two years has been the variety of companies coming to the market. Earlier IPO booms were often driven by a handful of hot sectors. This time, fundraising has been spread across financial services, capital goods, technology, healthcare, consumer-focused businesses and more.

In 2025, NBFCs emerged as the biggest contributors, followed by capital goods and technology companies. Interestingly, some sectors that were very active in 2024 — such as telecom and utilities — saw almost no IPO activity this year, showing how quickly sector preferences can change.

Another notable trend is the age of companies going public. More than half of the funds raised over the last two years came from companies less than 20 years old. Many of them are relatively small in size, but together they form the largest chunk of new listings, reflecting the growing ambition of younger businesses to raise capital early.

Investor appetite stays strong

Demand for IPOs has remained strong, often far exceeding supply. Over the last two years, IPOs were subscribed nearly 27 times on average. Smaller and SME issues saw especially heavy demand, though mainboard IPOs also witnessed healthy participation.

Performance after listing has been mixed but largely positive. More than half of the mainboard IPOs from the past two years are trading above their offer prices, with several delivering sharp gains. At the same time, not every listing has been a winner, reminding investors that selectivity still matters.

Beyond IPOs: QIPs and OFS slow down

While IPOs surged, other fundraising routes were more muted in 2025. Qualified Institutional Placements slowed sharply compared to the previous year, with State Bank of India accounting for a large share of the funds raised. Offers for Sale also declined, suggesting fewer promoters chose to dilute stakes this year.

Looking forward, the IPO pipeline still looks healthy. Strong participation from domestic investors, steady mutual fund inflows, and continued interest from large companies are likely to support new listings. While market volatility could cause brief pauses, the broader trend points to sustained activity rather than a sudden slowdown.