RECORD-BREAKING YEAR FOR IPOS

ROBUST PIPELINES, RISING DOMESTIC FLOWS, AND SHIFTING VALUATION DYNAMICS SIGNAL A WATERSHED MOMENT FOR INDIA'S PRIMARY MARKET.

- BY CHITRANJAN KUMAR

INDIA'S PRIMARY MARKET is well on track to achieve an unprecedented ₹2-lakh-crore milestone this fiscal. With companies having already raised ₹1.59 lakh crore via the initial public offering (IPO) route in the first nine months (till December 23), FY26 is comfortably poised to surpass the previous fiscal's record of ₹1.62 lakh crore to become the biggest fundraising year in India's IPO history. With four months remaining and a robust pipeline of more than ₹1.16 lakh crore in planned issues from around 88 companies, the primary market appears well positioned to deliver a record-shattering fundraising tally.

"With 92 IPO listings so far in FY26 raising a total of ₹1,59,314 crore, the Indian primary market is likely to break the previous year's mobilisation of ₹1,62,517 crore, as well as breach the ₹2,00,000-crore milestone," says Anil Sharma, co-founder of IPO Central, which tracks the primary market.

What makes this surge even more significant is the contrast with the broader market. While the benchmark indices—the BSE Sensex and the NSE Nifty—have gained up to 10% year-to-date (YTD), they have struggled to maintain a consistent momentum amid global macroeconomic uncertainties. In contrast, the IPO market remains one of the strongest pillars of India's capital ecosystem, buoyed by robust liquidity, resilient macro fundamentals, and a diverse mix of issuers tapping the public markets.

In 2025, 101 mainboard firms have made their debut on the bourses, raising more than ₹1.75 lakh crore—the highest tally in any calendar year. The fundraising is 10% higher than the record ₹1.59 lakh crore mobilised by 91 companies in 2024.