India's NSE IPO Ignites Market with ₹22,569 Crore Debut, Early Demand Strong

India's National Stock Exchange (NSE) has finally opened its massive ₹22,569 crore Initial Public Offering (IPO) today, September 17, 2026, after nearly a decade of anticipation. The much-awaited public issue, priced between ₹1,700 and ₹1,785 per share, saw a decent initial response, with the overall subscription reaching about 43% on its first day of bidding. This landmark offering is structured entirely as an Offer for Sale, meaning existing shareholders are selling their stakes, not the exchange raising new capital for itself. The NSE IPO is the second-largest public issue in India's history, right behind Hyundai Motor India's 2024 offering, and notably surpassed LIC's 2022 mega-issue. While institutional appetite was initially described as 'unexpectedly large' by NSE CEO Ashishkumar Chauhan, the Grey Market Premium (GMP) has shown a cooling trend, dropping from ₹285 earlier in September to around ₹125-₹140 today, suggesting more moderate listing expectations of about 7-8%. The path to listing has been a long one for NSE, delayed for almost ten years due to regulatory issues, including the high-profile Co-location Controversy. Investors have until September 21 to subscribe to this significant offering, with shares expected to be allotted on September 22 and listed on the BSE by September 24. This listing on a rival exchange is due to current SEBI regulations preventing a stock exchange from listing its own securities on its own platform. All eyes will now be on the coming days' subscription figures, especially from Qualified Institutional Buyers, and the final listing performance, which will truly reflect investor confidence in India's dominant stock exchange.