India's IPO market has achieved unprecedented momentum with mainboard and SME IPOs together raising a record ₹1 lakh crore in H1 FY27, up 31% from the corresponding period of FY26, according to The Financial Express. This record performance was driven by a strong late-quarter surge in August and September, with fundraising in the first three months standing at just ₹3,794 crore before activity picked up significantly. The surge was primarily driven by large IPOs by National Stock Exchange of India Ltd. (₹22,563 crore), SBI Funds Management Ltd. (₹9,795 crore) and Manipal Health Enterprises Ltd. (₹9,275 crore), which together raised more than ₹43,533 crore. As per The Financial Express, market participants attributed the record mobilisation to a combination of large-ticket issues, strong anchor participation and a backlog of IPOs that had been deferred following the outbreak of the West Asia conflict in March. Strong domestic liquidity and demand from institutional investors have helped companies continue to tap the market even as investors become more selective on valuations.
The IPO pipeline is experiencing unprecedented momentum with approximately 145 companies holding valid SEBI approvals as of September 2026, with their estimated issue size adding up to around ₹2.78 lakh crore, according to PRIME Database. The pipeline includes several large-ticket offerings that could keep the primary market busy in H2FY27, with Jio Platforms having an estimated issue size of ₹35,000 crore, followed by Avaada Electro at ₹7,600 crore, Oravel Stays (OYO) at ₹6,650 crore, Zepto at ₹5,106 crore, and Credila Financial Services and Dorf-Ketal Chemicals India at ₹5,000 crore each. As per Business Standard, Abhinav Tiwari, senior research analyst at Bonanza, noted that out of the total ₹2.78 lakh crore amount approved, roughly about ₹1-1.2 lakh crore, or 35-45 per cent of the approved pipeline, is expected to actually hit the primary market in H2FY27. The next leg of the primary-market cycle could be even more diverse, spanning financial services, healthcare, power, infrastructure, technology, consumer businesses and manufacturing sectors. The rush is showing little sign of slowing down, with nearly 250 companies in the pipeline to raise about ₹4.65 lakh crore through IPOs, according to PRIME Database.
The market strength was visible in robust investor demand, with 42 out of 64 IPOs for which subscription data was available being subscribed more than 10 times, while 25 received bids of more than 50 times, according to Primedatabase.com. Retail participation also improved significantly, with the average number of retail applications per IPO rising to 17.71 lakh in H1 FY27 from 12.69 lakh in the same period last year. Retail investors applied for shares worth ₹2.47 lakh crore, though their final allocation stood at ₹25,944 crore. The average listing gain for the 64 IPOs that had listed stood at 19%, compared with 7% in the first half of last year, with 46 of these 64 IPOs trading above their issue price as of September 29. As per PRIME Database, the average return for these IPOs was 32%, despite the broader market correction linked to geopolitical concerns. Fresh capital accounted for ₹38,510 crore (41% of mainboard IPO amount), with offers for sale by private promoters at ₹26,048 crore and PE and VC investors selling shares worth ₹9,313 crore. Mainboard IPOs raised a record ₹942.05 billion across 78 issues, 35% higher than the previous record set in the first half of fiscal 2026, according to PRIME Database Group.
Foreign investor behavior continues to reveal interesting patterns in the current market cycle. According to The Financial Express, FPIs invested ₹44,960 crore in the primary market in H1 FY27, despite selling ₹1.64 lakh crore in the secondary market. This shift in portfolio allocation by foreign investors is contributing to the liquidity dynamics affecting secondary markets. Kranthi Bathini, director of equity strategy at WealthMills Securities, emphasizes that domestic liquidity remains strong, supported by SIP flows and significant new Demat account openings, with more than ₹2 lakh crore raised from the primary market in recent months. However, experts note that the primary and secondary markets cannot be viewed in isolation, with secondary-market sentiment remaining crucial for sustaining IPO market momentum. Santosh Meena, head of research at Swastika Investmart, noted that in H2FY27, large IPOs will compete for attention and capital, especially from institutions, but are unlikely to completely shut out well-priced smaller issues, with the market showing capacity to support both large and mid-sized deals when pricing is investor-friendly. Pranav Haldea, managing director of PRIME Database Group, cited two reasons for the unusual divergence between primary and secondary markets - a backlog of initial public offerings over the last 2-3 years and strong domestic liquidity.
The overall public equity market fundraising touched a record ₹2.43 lakh crore in H1 FY27, up 75% from ₹1.39 lakh crore a year earlier, according to Primedatabase.com. This surge was not just driven by IPOs but also by offers for sale and qualified institutional placements. Fund raising from IPOs, including the SME IPOs, touched the ₹1 lakh crore mark in H1FY27, up from ₹76,330 crore in the year-ago period, as per Primedatabase.com. Fundraising through the OFS route on stock exchanges also surged during the period, with companies and shareholders raising ₹67,382 crore through OFS in H1FY27, compared with ₹10,536 crore in the corresponding period of FY26, according to The Financial Express. Other fundraising routes also saw strong activity, with offers for sale through stock exchanges rising more than five times to ₹55,337 crore, mainly due to government divestment, while 34 companies raised ₹61,553 crore through QIPs, up 36% from last year. The average mainboard IPO size rose to ₹1,208 crore from ₹1,070 crore a year earlier, with 42% of fresh issue money aimed at balance-sheet repair through debt repayment. Government's spree of divestments from companies such as Life Insurance Corp of India and Coal India pushed secondary stock offerings fivefold higher to ₹553.37 billion rupees, with LIC's 6.5% stake sale alone accounting for about ₹314 billion rupees. Despite the record first half, market participants were cautious about expecting the pace to be sustained through the remainder of FY27, with experts noting that rising crude prices and US Treasury yields could deter foreign investors and may require companies to recalibrate valuations to attract investors.
