SEBI's Questions Halt India's Biggest IPO: NSE Listing Awaits Clarity

India's largest stock exchange, the National Stock Exchange (NSE), has hit a fresh speed bump on its decade-long journey to go public. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) recently issued 'observations' on NSE Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP) and is now waiting for clarifications from the appointed merchant bankers before taking a final decision on the massive Initial Public Offering (IPO). This latest development comes just after SEBI Chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey indicated the regulator was 'close' to approving the listing. This isn't the first delay for the highly anticipated IPO, which has been in the pipeline for nearly ten years, largely due to regulatory probes into past controversies like the co-location and dark fibre case. The proposed IPO is structured entirely as an Offer for Sale (OFS) of up to 148.9 million equity shares, meaning existing shareholders, not NSE itself, will offload their stakes. With a potential valuation of around ₹5.26 lakh crore, this could be India's biggest IPO ever, making SEBI scrutiny even more critical for investor protection and market integrity. The ball is now firmly in the court of NSE twenty-strong syndicate of merchant bankers, who must quickly address SEBI queries to keep the IPO on track for its expected listing by September 2026. The exchange already holds a No-Objection Certificate (NOC) from SEBI valid until January 2027, so time is ticking for them to resolve these 'observations'. Investors will be closely watching for the bankers' response and SEBI subsequent approval, which will finally pave the way for this landmark public offering to hit the capital markets.