India’s IPO pipeline could raise ₹2 lakh crore, says Sebi chief Tuhin Kanta Pandey

India could see around ₹2 lakh crore raised through initial public offerings (IPOs), with fresh capital accounting for more than half of the proceeds raised so far in FY27, Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) Chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey said on Tuesday. 

Speaking at the 11th J.P. Morgan India Conference, Pandey said companies have raised around ₹60,000 crore through IPOs so far in FY27, of which about 55% represents fresh capital flowing into companies. 

India’s equity market currently has a market capitalisation of around $5 trillion while more than ₹100 lakh crore has been raised through equity and debt issuances over the past decade, Pandey said. 

Corporate bond market, retail participation expand 

The outstanding corporate bond market has expanded sharply, rising from around ₹20 lakh crore in FY16 to about ₹61 lakh crore currently. More than ₹4.3 lakh crore has already been raised through corporate bonds in FY27, according to Pandey. 

Participation in the securities market has also widened, with around 149 million unique investors currently participating. Mutual fund assets have nearly tripled over the past five years to ₹87 lakh crore from around ₹37 lakh crore. 

Systematic investment plan assets now account for more than one-fifth of mutual fund assets under management, reflecting the growing role of household savings in financial markets. The alternative investment fund ecosystem has grown to around ₹17 lakh crore of commitments, while real estate investment trusts (REITs) and infrastructure investment trusts (InvITs) together manage around ₹9.2 lakh crore of assets. 

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) remain an important part of the market, with assets under custody of around $818 billion, or about ₹78 lakh crore. FPIs turned net buyers of Indian equities for the second consecutive month in August, while primary-market issuances also continued to attract foreign investors. 

“These numbers point to a structural change. India’s capital markets have become a large and diversified platform connecting domestic savings and global capital with enterprise and investment opportunities,” Pandey said. 

Sebi seeks simpler rules, deeper markets 

Pandey said Sebi’s regulatory approach is aimed at reducing avoidable friction, calibrating regulation to risk and investor sophistication while retaining safeguards. 

For companies accessing public markets, the regulator has sought to simplify processes, rationalise requirements and streamline disclosures. For foreign investors, Sebi is working towards faster and more digital onboarding. 

The SWAGAT-FI framework for trusted, low-risk FPIs has already been adopted by around 205 FPIs since becoming operational on June 1, 2026. Sebi has also enabled real-time tracking of applications and digitally signed powers of attorney, removing the need for notarisation, apostillisation or consularisation. 

The regulator has also reviewed the block-window framework, permitted netting of funds to reduce funding costs and simplified requirements for FPIs investing only in government securities. 

In alternative investments, Sebi is providing greater flexibility to accredited investors and large-value funds while retaining governance and accountability requirements. In the corporate bond market, the regulator is focusing on expanding the issuer base, improving price discovery, increasing participation and strengthening secondary-market liquidity. 

Sebi has also launched Demat 2.0, a pilot for tokenisation of corporate bonds on a private, permissioned distributed ledger technology network operated by depositories. 

Looking ahead, the regulator is examining simpler digital onboarding for persons resident outside India, wider FPI participation in non-agricultural commodity derivatives and depository receipts against units of REITs and publicly listed InvITs. 

Sebi is also consulting on net settlement of funds for mutual fund schemes in the cash market and changes related to settlement prices for derivatives on expiry days. It plans to deepen the cash market by widening participation, improving securities borrowing and lending, and supporting hedging and arbitrage. 

For corporate bonds, work is underway on a comprehensive market-making framework covering liquidity, market infrastructure and repo access. Sebi is also consulting on Fixed Income Channel Partners and a proposed Credit Risk-o-Meter to make credit risk easier for investors to understand. 

Pandey said the regulator will also focus on stronger business-continuity and disaster-recovery arrangements for market infrastructure institutions, along with enhanced IT and cybersecurity requirements. “Reduce unnecessary friction, deepen markets and strengthen safeguards where risks are real,” Pandey said, outlining Sebi’s approach to keeping Indian markets accessible, resilient and trusted by domestic and global investors.