The National Stock Exchange (NSE) will not list its shares on its own platform when it goes public, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Ashish Chauhan told ANI, stating that Indian regulations prohibit exchanges from self-listing.
“It’s a regulation of India, and we have to abide by that,” Chauhan said, explaining that as a regulated institution, the NSE cannot regulate itself and must therefore list on an alternative exchange.
The remarks come after the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) granted the exchange a no-objection certificate, clearing the way for its long-pending initial public offering (IPO).
Chauhan told ANI that the NSE cannot list on its own trading platform and will instead seek listing on another recognised exchange, such as the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).
He said the exchange will take a few months to prepare and file its Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP), after which SEBI will review the document and provide further clearance.
The proposed IPO will be structured as an Offer for Sale (OFS), with no fresh capital being raised by the exchange.
“We are not going to raise money for ourselves,” Chauhan told ANI.
He said the exchange will invite existing shareholders to indicate whether they wish to sell shares as part of the IPO. “With that, we will go to SEBI, saying that these are the people wanting to sell their shares, and allow us to do an IPO,” he said.
The NSE currently has nearly 195,000 shareholders who collectively own 100 percent of the exchange.
On valuation estimates circulating in the market, including figures around USD 50 billion, Chauhan said such numbers should be taken “with a pinch of salt.”
“You have to take it with a pinch of salt, right? Because what happens on the actual listing, you don’t know,” he said, adding that pricing decisions are typically finalised closer to launch and depend on prevailing market conditions.
Chauhan said merchant bankers appointed to the issue will advise the IPO committee on the offer price, taking into account financial performance, industry comparables, growth trends, and broader economic and geopolitical factors.
He described the IPO as largely procedural, aimed at providing liquidity to existing shareholders rather than funding expansion, noting that the exchange is profitable enough to meet its growth plans.
Chauhan also drew a distinction between listing and trading. While the NSE will list on another exchange, its shares could potentially be traded across multiple platforms, subject to regulatory approvals.
Listing, he said, enables broader participation and enhances liquidity for shareholders.
The SEBI no-objection certificate marks a significant step in the NSE’s IPO process, which has been pending for nearly a decade.
Under India’s regulatory framework, stock exchanges are not permitted to list on their own platforms due to conflict-of-interest considerations. Chauhan noted that while some global exchanges such as Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), the parent of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), are listed on their own trading platforms, India’s rules do not allow such an arrangement.
Chauhan told ANI that public listing can strengthen transparency and governance. He said that with a wider shareholder base and real-time disclosure requirements, management decisions are subject to scrutiny by investors and the media.
He cited the example of Life Insurance Corporation (LIC), stating that governance improved after its listing, and said similar disclosure norms apply to large public institutions.
Chauhan also said that NSE, as a key public utility in India’s financial system, should be listed in line with broader principles of accountability and openness.
In the same interview with ANI, Chauhan said India has positioned itself as a cost-effective and inclusive capital market, particularly for small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
He said that in developed markets such as the United States, listing costs can range between USD 20 million and USD 30 million, which can make smaller public fundraises economically unviable.
“In India, people are raising USD 1–2 million also. So how much they are spending is probably 5 to 10 per cent of that money to list,” Chauhan told ANI.
He said India’s market structure, supported by government policies and SEBI regulations, enables companies of varying sizes to access public capital without disproportionate costs.
Chauhan highlighted the operational traction of India’s SME platforms, contrasting them with international efforts such as London’s Alternative Investment Market (AIM), which he said has struggled in recent years, and similar attempts in Japan.
“The Indian stock market is very, very inclusive, not only for the investors, but also for the companies,” he told ANI, adding that companies can raise amounts ranging from Rs 1 crore to Rs 1 lakh crore through the platform, subject to regulatory processes and intermediary support.
He said the ecosystem of merchant bankers, legal advisors and compliance professionals has evolved to support SME listings.
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