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India retained its position as the world's leading market for initial public offerings (IPOs) by number of issues during FY2025-26, while ranking third globally in terms of funds raised, according to the Securities and Exchange Board of India's (SEBI) Annual Report for 2025-26.
Highlighting the country's strong primary market activity, SEBI said the equity market continued to witness robust momentum during the year despite global uncertainties marked by geopolitical conflicts, trade tensions, volatile capital flows and rapid technological changes. "The primary equity market demonstrated continued dynamism, with India ranking first globally in the number of IPOs and third in terms of fund raised," SEBI Chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey said in his statement in the report. To sustain this momentum, the market regulator said it introduced several reforms aimed at making capital raising easier while maintaining investor protection. Among the key measures, SEBI restructured the minimum public offer framework by linking public float requirements to issue size. It also extended the timeline for the largest listed companies to achieve the mandatory 25 per cent minimum public shareholding to 10 years, enabling large enterprises to access public markets without facing frequent dilution after listing. The regulator further allowed founders of new-age companies to retain employee stock option plans (ESOPs) granted before an IPO, saying the move would preserve long-term incentives while ensuring transparency for public shareholders. In his message, Pandey said India's capital markets remained resilient during one of the most challenging years in recent times, demonstrating their ability to function efficiently despite global geopolitical conflicts, trade wars and volatile asset prices. He said SEBI's regulatory approach had shifted towards building "resilience by design" by embedding structural integrity through optimum regulation and AI-driven oversight while simplifying compliance for market participants. The Chairman noted that India would require significantly larger pools of capital to finance its long-term development goals, including infrastructure, manufacturing and the energy transition, adding that these investments could not be funded by the banking system alone. According to the report, SEBI's policy focus during the year was to strengthen the equity market, corporate bond market and alternative investment ecosystem so that they complement traditional sources of financing and support India's journey towards becoming a developed economy by 2047. (ANI)
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