How Mumbai Became One of the World's Busiest IPO Markets

India has turned into the world’s most prolific listing venue. The National Stock Exchange hosted 268 IPOs in 2024 and raised roughly ₹1.67 lakh crore, more new listings than the Japan Exchange Group, Hong Kong Exchanges and the Shanghai Stock Exchange combined, according to NewsOnAir’s account of NSE data. The pace did not let up. In calendar 2025, India saw 373 IPOs that together mobilised about ₹1.95 trillion, a near twelvefold jump in proceeds over the prior year, Business Standard reported. The story behind those numbers is not foreign money chasing a hot market. It is a structural shift in where Indian households park their savings.

The scale of the issuance

The raw counts are the headline. India led global IPO activity in 2024 with around $19 billion raised, and the NSE alone accounted for roughly $17.3 billion of new-issue proceeds, ahead of the New York Stock Exchange at about $15.9 billion that year, per the NewsOnAir summary of exchange figures.

By value, 2025 was a step change. Business Standard’s year-end tally put the year at 373 issues for ₹1.95 trillion, with 103 on the mainboard and 270 on the SME platform. October 2025 alone was the busiest month for mainboard IPOs in the country’s history, with around fourteen issues seeking more than ₹46,000 crore, according to Business Today. The breadth matters as much as the size, because it shows the market can absorb a steady drumbeat of deals rather than one or two megacaps.

Why domestic demand runs so deep

The demand side is what separates this cycle from past booms. India’s IPO surge is being driven by the financialisation of household savings, with mutual fund participation expanding to roughly 5.9 crore unique investors, including many from non-metro regions, Business Today noted.

The plumbing is the systematic investment plan, or SIP, the auto-debit monthly mutual-fund contribution that now lands in the tens of thousands of crore every month. That steady inflow gives domestic institutions a near-permanent bid for new paper, which is why book-builds in Mumbai routinely clear without the anchor demand from global funds that smaller markets depend on. Retail and institutional investors are now showing up together, a dynamic the FY26 primary-market review from Samco credits for India topping the global IPO charts on listing count. For a comparison with markets where that domestic cushion is thinner, see our coverage of the US IPO reopening.

Mainboard heavyweights, SME volume

The two-tier structure explains how India produces such large counts. The SME platforms generate the volume, while the mainboard concentrates the value. In 2025 the mainboard hosted about 103 to 106 listings yet captured the overwhelming majority of capital, with mainboard issues accounting for roughly 94 percent of the ₹1.95 trillion total, per Business Standard’s year-ender.

The SME segment is maturing too. Average SME deal sizes have grown sharply as more institutional money looks past the mainboard, though that growth has also drawn tighter regulatory attention to disclosure and price discovery on the smaller boards.

A different mix of issuers

The 2025 cohort blended traditional businesses with a long-delayed wave of consumer-tech debuts. Financials and new-age companies dominated the fundraising, Business Standard reported, as names that had stayed private for years finally tested the public market.

The marquee tech listings carried real heft. Eyewear retailer Lenskart, brokerage Groww, e-commerce platform Meesho and edtech PhysicsWallah all came to market, with Lenskart valued near $7.9 billion and Groww around $7 billion at listing, according to Inc42’s new-age tech tracker. Tracxn data cited in the India Tech Report counted 47 tech IPOs in FY2025-26, a 52 percent jump and the highest tally on record. The 2026 pipeline is heavier still, with Reliance Jio, PhonePe and Zepto among the big-ticket names expected to file or list, per Upstox. For the broader sector view, read our India tech IPO outlook.

SEBI reforms and the Paytm lesson

The market did not arrive here by accident. The Securities and Exchange Board of India has been steadily tightening the rules. The T+3 listing timeline, which requires shares to list within three working days of an issue closing, is now mandatory and has compressed the gap between pricing and trading, Business Standard reported. SEBI has also pushed harder on disclosure, reportedly moving to require new-age companies to lay out three years of past fundraising history, key financial and operational metrics, and KPI comparisons against at least three competitors, according to Inc42. The regulator has separately eased some dilution rules to make room for very large listings.

Much of that discipline traces back to a single deal. Paytm’s November 2021 IPO raised about ₹18,300 crore at a valuation north of $20 billion, then fell roughly 27 percent on debut, as documented in case studies of the listing. The loss-making company had been priced at a steep multiple of revenue with no clear path to profit, and the wreckage put a dozen other IPO hopefuls under fresh scrutiny. The takeaway for bankers and founders was blunt. Price for fundamentals, not for the last private round. The 2025 cohort, with its mix of profitable financials and more soberly valued tech names, reflects a market that learned the lesson. That harder line on valuation also colours how investors read the founder and operator stories behind India’s startup generation.

FAQ

How many IPOs did India have in 2024 and 2025?

The NSE hosted 268 IPOs in 2024, and India saw 373 IPOs across the mainboard and SME platforms in calendar 2025, per NewsOnAir and Business Standard. Counts vary slightly by source depending on how mainboard and SME listings are tallied.

Did India raise the most IPO money in the world in 2025?

No. By total proceeds India ranked fourth in 2025 at about $14.2 billion, behind the United States, Hong Kong and mainland China, Business Standard reported. India’s lead is clearest in the number of listings rather than dollars raised.

What drives India’s retail IPO demand?

The growth of monthly SIP contributions into mutual funds, plus a base of roughly 5.9 crore unique mutual-fund investors, gives domestic institutions a steady flow of cash to deploy into new issues, Business Today reported.

Sources

1. NewsOnAir — NSE leads global IPO market in 2024, raising ₹1.67 lakh crore with 268 listings
2. Business Standard — India’s IPO fundraising up 12x, 373 issues raise ₹1.95 trillion in 2025
3. Business Standard — India sees fourth largest funding raise globally via IPOs in 2025
4. Business Today — Why October 2025 was India’s busiest IPO month ever
5. Business Standard — Year-ender 2025: Financials, new-age companies dominate India’s IPO fundraising
6. Samco — Primary Market FY26: India tops global IPO charts
7. Inc42 — Indian Listed New-Age Tech Company Tracker
8. India Tech Report — India tech startup landscape 2025-26 (Tracxn)
9. Upstox — Upcoming IPOs: Reliance Jio, PhonePe, Zepto among big-ticket IPOs expected in 2026
10. Business Standard — Shorter IPO timeline (T+3) effective from December 1, says SEBI
11. Inc42 — SEBI to tighten disclosures for new-age tech IPOs
12. Business Standard — SEBI eases IPO dilution rules, extends MPS timeline
13. HDFC Sky — Case studies of IPOs: lessons from Paytm, JSW Infra and Zomato