SEBI Chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey said that the board is at a very advanced stage of issuing the No Objection Certificate (NOC) for the long-awaited National Stock Exchange (NSE) IPO.
“I think we are at a very advanced stage of issuing the NOC for the NSE IPO, maybe within this month,” Pandey told ANI.
“Possibly within this month,” he indicated, raising expectations of progress on the listing front.
NSE has been seeking regulatory clearance for its public listing for several years, following governance concerns and the co-location controversy that came under SEBI’s scrutiny.
NSE IPO plans
NSE initially filed its Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP) in December 2016. The process was delayed by regulatory challenges, particularly allegations of unfair access to its algorithmic trading platform in India.
Later in August 2024, the NSE reapplied to the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) for a no-objection certificate to proceed with its IPO.
In October 2024, the NSE settled its Trading Access Point (TAP) Architecture and Network Connectivity case by paying a penalty of Rs 643 crore to SEBI, which was probing an alleged deficiency on the part of the exchange and its top officials to deal with a situation wherein some high-frequency stock traders were found to be gaming the system.
SEBI Chief on digital scams
Further speaking on SEBI’s plan to enforce accountability on digital platforms, Pandey said the exchange has since taken multiple corrective steps, including changes in senior management, board restructuring, strengthening of compliance frameworks, and settlement of past regulatory issues.
“One of the ways that we are doing it is through looking at social media and wherever we find that there is transgression, we are asking the platforms to take it down,” he said, adding that over 100,000 takedowns have already been carried out in recent months.
Addressing the rise in fraud cases in which scammers misuse SEBI’s name and logo, Pandey stated that the regulator has intensified its coordination with law enforcement agencies nationwide.
“SEBI has written to all states, including Chief Secretaries and Directors General of Police, requesting the appointment of nodal officers. Many states have already nominated officers, and training programs have been conducted,” he said.