Drashti Chheda NSDL is finally making its move to go public. The country’s first and largest securities depository has filed its red herring prospectus with SEBI on July 23, and all eyes are now on its much-anticipated IPO. If you’re looking for a strong market player backed by big names and big numbers, this one’s worth watching.
The IPO is expected to open for bidding on July 30 and will close on August 1. It’s a pure offer-for-sale, with over 5 crore shares being offloaded by existing shareholders. Among them are some of the biggest names in Indian finance—IDBI Bank, NSE, SBI, HDFC Bank and others. IDBI is selling more than 2.2 crore shares, while NSE is letting go of 1.8 crore.
The total issue size is expected to be around ₹3,500 to ₹4,000 crore, which hints at a possible price band of ₹700 to ₹800 per share. These numbers aren’t confirmed yet, but the buzz is building. Anchor bidding will take place on July 29, and if everything goes smoothly, NSDL could be listed on the exchanges by August 7.
NSDL isn’t just any financial company. It sits at the core of India’s capital market operations, providing crucial infrastructure for demat accounts and securities handling. For the financial year 2025, it clocked in a net profit of ₹343.1 crore and revenue of ₹1,535.1 crore. That’s a healthy jump from the previous year and a strong signal of growth.
SEBI had earlier granted NSDL an extension to get listed by August 14. A previous deadline was missed, but this time, they seem ready to hit the ground running. Meanwhile, its subsidiary NSDL Payment Bank has just been recognised as a scheduled commercial bank by the RBI, adding more credibility to the group.
There’s also a compliance angle here. SEBI rules say no single entity can own more than 15 percent in any market infrastructure institution. But currently, IDBI and NSE hold over 26 and 24 percent respectively. This public offering is expected to address that and also bring in a wider shareholder base.
Retail investors will get 35 percent of the total allocation, and there’s a small reservation for eligible employees as well. The IPO is being managed by top names including ICICI Securities, Axis Capital, IDBI Capital, Motilal Oswal and SBI Capital Markets.
In simple terms, NSDL is a profit-making, tightly regulated, backbone-of-the-markets kind of company. And now it’s opening its doors to public investors. If you’ve been waiting for a serious name to hit the IPO street, this might just be it.
