Setting a new milestone in the history of the Indian capital market, the much-awaited initial public offering (IPO) of the National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) is witnessing unprecedented enthusiasm among retail investors. Applications from small investors have reached a record level in the public offering of the country's largest exchange platform, which has once again proved the strength of domestic capital in the primary market. In an exclusive panel discussion with CNBC-TV18, NSE Managing Directors & CEOs and the country's top market experts shared their comprehensive views on the current health of the IPO market, expansion of retail participation, flow of household savings, upcoming economic growth and sectoral priorities.
During the panel discussion, the MD & CEO of NSE clarified that the retail participation currently witnessed in the NSE IPO has been the largest ever in the entire financial history. He underlined that when ordinary citizens become direct partners in the country's largest financial market infrastructure, it is a real victory for financial inclusion. Sharing his long-term vision, the NSE chief said that he has been of the firm and clear opinion that important public institutions of the country should be compulsorily listed on the stock exchanges. Listing of a public institution not only strengthens its corporate governance, transparency and accountability at global standards, but also provides an opportunity to ordinary citizens to earn direct financial benefits from the growth of the institution.
Presenting accurate data on the actual profitability of the primary market, Atul Mehra, MD & CEO, Axis Capital, laid out a surprising analysis. He said that if a prudent investor had invested equally in all the major IPOs from January 2026 till now and sold his shares on the listing day itself, he would have received an average direct listing gain of 14 percent. On the contrary, if an investor was patient and held all those stocks in his portfolio instead of exiting by taking only the listing gains, his total return would have increased to 22 percent. This data makes it clear that the market has rewarded investors who have stayed in quality IPOs for a long time.
Drawing on his vast professional experience of over 35 years on Dalal Street, Atul Mehra said he has closely witnessed the rise and fall of over 1,000 IPOs in his career. He stressed that the current IPO cycle of 2026 is not just a means for companies to raise capital, but every new IPO coming into the market is continuously strengthening the depth and breadth of the Indian stock market. Most of the new companies coming for listing today have very unique business models and new-age technology, which has made the Indian stock markets rich with investment options across diverse sectors rather than being restricted to just traditional manufacturing and commodities.
Speaking on the resilience of Indian markets amid global economic uncertainties and geopolitical tensions, Nilesh Shah, Founder, Envision Capital, said Indian equity markets remain relatively strong despite weak global macros. The biggest credit for this strength goes to the traditional domestic savings of Indian families, which are now rapidly flowing from fixed deposits and gold towards systematic investment plans (SIP) and equities. This domestic institutional capital is standing as a shield in front of the selling by foreign investors. In terms of sectoral allocation, Nilesh Shah said that his first choice remains organized consumer businesses and strong financials. Along with this, they are especially betting on those companies which are using cutting-edge technology better and efficiently in their traditional operations.
Speaking on digital payments and fintech space, Nilesh Shah said that the Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) system will prove to be incremental revenue generator for all the major players in the digital payments ecosystem. Discussing the explosive growth of Unified Payments Interface (UPI), he expressed confidence that the time is not far when every citizen of the country will be fully using UPI in their daily economic activities. However, he took a cautious stance towards traditional largecap IT companies and said that they do not look very attractive currently due to sluggish growth rates among top IT firms. In contrast, digital platforms that are distributing modern financial products (mutual funds, insurance, etc.) are worth keeping on the radar due to their high growth potential. In the case of midcap IT companies, he suggested that they should be judged on the basis of actual impact of global contracts related to Artificial Intelligence (AI).
Analyzing the macroeconomic trends, Sanjay Parekh, Founder and Chief Investment Officer (CIO), Soham Asset Managers, underlined that the robust growth recorded across different segments of the economy has positively surprised market analysts. He particularly cited strong sales of domestic automobiles and fast credit growth of banks as proof of economic strength. Along with this, he described high global crude oil prices and high levels of 10-year government bond yields as important factors that need to be continuously monitored, as the supply of new papers (IPOs and QIPs) in the primary market has been high this year. In the commodity and metals sector, Sanjay Parekh clarified that his clear choice remains non-ferrous metals. On the contrary, for the domestic steel industry, he termed the high volatility of cooking oil and raw materials and the threat of cheap dumping from China as a major risk. He clarified that the current valuations in the ferrous segment are not cheap and he is not aggressively bullish on any major global player at this time.