National Stock Exchange of India Limited

What does the National Stock Exchange do?

NSE operates India's largest equity and derivatives markets, runs the NIFTY indices, and provides clearing and data services for the country's capital markets.

Is the National Stock Exchange publicly traded?

Yes. NSE listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange under ticker NSE on September 24, 2026.

Who founded the National Stock Exchange?

The Government of India established NSE in 1992 on the Pherwani Committee's recommendation. A founding team led by R. H. Patil and including Ravi Narain and Ashishkumar Chauhan built the exchange.

Where is the National Stock Exchange headquartered?

NSE is headquartered at Exchange Plaza in the Bandra-Kurla Complex, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.

Who owns the National Stock Exchange?

NSE is publicly owned by institutional and retail shareholders following its September 2026 listing. Before listing it was held by domestic and international financial institutions including the Life Insurance Corporation of India.

When did NSE IPO?

NSE listed on the BSE on September 24, 2026, at 1,785 rupees per share, valuing the exchange at roughly $46 billion.

The Government of India established NSE in 1992 on the recommendation of the Pherwani Committee, created to break the Bombay Stock Exchange's broker-controlled monopoly. IDBI deputed R. H. Patil and S. S. Nadkarni to lead the project, and a founding team including Ravi Narain, Chitra Ramkrishna, and Ashishkumar Chauhan built the exchange.

NSE received SEBI recognition in April 1993 and began operations in 1994, introducing screen-based electronic trading that ended open outcry. Within a year it surpassed BSE in trading volume, a position it has held since.

The exchange democratized access by opening membership to anyone meeting financial and qualification standards rather than restricting it to a broker guild. It launched index derivatives in 2000, built the NIFTY 50 as the national benchmark, and expanded into currency, debt, and clearing through subsidiaries.

The co-location scandal of the 2010s, in which some brokers allegedly received preferential access to exchange servers, drew SEBI penalties and years of investigation that delayed the IPO. Ashishkumar Chauhan, a founding team member, returned as MD and CEO in 2022 to complete the listing.

NSE listed on the BSE on September 24, 2026, at an IPO price of 1,785 rupees per share. The offering valued the exchange at roughly 4.45 lakh crore rupees, about $46 billion, and was oversubscribed 5.71 times. The listing ended nearly a decade of regulatory and legal delays.

NSE carries the legacy of the co-location case. From 2010 through 2014, certain brokers allegedly gained faster access to exchange servers through preferential server placement, and SEBI found governance failures in its investigation. The matter produced penalties, executive departures including former CEO Chitra Ramkrishna's arrest in 2022, and regulatory findings that the exchange disputed.

The scandal delayed NSE's IPO for years and shaped the governance scrutiny the exchange faced before listing. The 2026 listing proceeded after SEBI cleared outstanding regulatory concerns.