India's IPO pipeline hits Rs 3.86 lakh crore. What's driving the rush

The mainboard IPO pipeline has reached around Rs 3.86 lakh crore as of September 2026, about 3.5 times the Rs 1.10 lakh crore raised through 84 mainboard IPOs so far this year.

In Short

• India's IPO pipeline stands at Rs 3.86 lakh crore as of September 2026
• Around 130 companies have Sebi approval, 75 await clearance
• Mainboard IPOs rose from 26 in 2016 to 103 in 2025

India’s IPO market is showing little sign of slowing down. Even as companies have already raised a sizeable amount from the primary market this year, a much larger queue of potential listings is waiting to come through.

The mainboard IPO pipeline has reached around Rs 3.86 lakh crore as of September 2026, about 3.5 times the Rs 1.10 lakh crore raised through 84 mainboard IPOs so far this year, according to the Association of Investment Bankers of India (AIBI).

The industry body, in its mid-term white paper titled India Capital Markets: Navigating Geopolitics, Capital & Growth, said the numbers point to a primary market that is becoming a more sustained source of capital for businesses rather than just a periodic fundraising window.

AROUND 130 COMPANIES HAVE SEBI APPROVAL

Of the Rs 3.86 lakh crore pipeline, around Rs 2.43 lakh crore comes from companies that have already received Sebi approval. Another Rs 1.44 lakh crore is linked to companies awaiting approval.

Overall, around 130 companies have received approval, while another 75 or so have filed their Draft Red Herring Prospectuses (DRHPs) and are waiting for the green light.

Mahavir Lunawat, Chairman, AIBI, said the scale of the pipeline shows how much the market has changed.

“India’s primary market has moved well beyond an episodic fundraising cycle,” he said, adding that the current pipeline, along with participation from QIBs (Qaulified Institutional Buyer), HNIs and retail investors, shows that the IPO market is becoming a broader channel for capital formation.

The growth has been building over the past decade. Mainboard IPOs raised a cumulative Rs 8.36 lakh crore between 2016 and 2026 YTD. Annual fundraising rose from Rs 26,494 crore in 2016 to Rs 1.76 lakh crore in 2025.

The number of IPOs has also climbed. There were 26 mainboard IPOs in 2016, compared with 103 in 2025. In the first part of 2026 alone, 84 issues have already hit the market.

SME IPOs ADD ANOTHER LAYER TO THE MARKET

The expansion is not limited to large companies. SME IPOs have also become a bigger part of India’s primary market.

There were 267 SME IPOs in 2025, the highest annual number during the period covered by AIBI, followed by 156 issues in 2026 YTD. Together, SME companies have raised Rs 39,849 crore through IPOs between 2016 and 2026 YTD.

The average SME issue size has also increased sharply, from around Rs 8 crore in 2016 to Rs 45 crore in 2026 YTD.

At the same time, the ecosystem supporting public-market fundraising has expanded. The number of registered merchant bankers increased from 188 in September 2016 to 250 in September 2026, a rise of around 33%.

Investor participation has also remained strong. AIBI data shows that average subscription levels in 2026 YTD stood at around 49 times among QIBs, 86 times among HNI investors and 26 times among retail investors. However, subscription levels varied significantly from one issue to another.

FOCUS SHIFTS FROM IPO NUMBERS TO QUALITY OF CAPITAL

With such a large pipeline, the next question is not simply how many companies will list, but where the money raised will eventually go.

Lunawat said the market is increasingly being supported by domestic investors and a wider capital formation system, including mutual funds and links between public equity, private capital and debt markets.

“The next phase, therefore, cannot be measured only by the quantum of IPOs or the number of listings,” he said.

The focus, he added, should be on how effectively capital is channelled into business expansion, new capacity, infrastructure and other long-term productive investments.

For investors, the growing pipeline means more companies and sectors could potentially come to the public market. For businesses, it points to a deeper pool of capital beyond traditional sources of funding.

But growth also brings its own responsibilities. AIBI said the next phase of the market will depend on the quality of issuers, institutional participation, disclosures and the wider distribution of capital, while ensuring that companies can use the public markets to support growth over the longer term.

With a Rs 3.86 lakh crore mainboard pipeline, rising SME participation and a larger intermediary base, India’s IPO market is entering a phase where size alone may no longer be the key story. The bigger test will be whether this growing pool of money can be converted into productive investment and sustainable business growth.

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