'After equity IPO, it's time for $74-bn family IPO'

AS DALAL STREET winds down from a blockbuster year of equity offerings, another kind of IPO is just beginning, one not listed on any exchange, yet commanding premium valuations. Welcome to family IPO, India's wedding season is in full swing, projected to raise a staggering $74 billion (₹6.5 lakh crore) over just 45 days, nearly 2% of the nation's GDP

- MAHESH NAYAK

From mid-November to December, the country will host 4.5 to 6 million weddings, an average of 100,000 ceremonies a day, according to Kotak Asset Management Company (KAMC). "Families often treat weddings as a family IPO, investing up to 20% of lifetime earnings to showcase wealth, n