India's capital markets are witnessing a significant surge, with the mainboard Initial Public Offering (IPO) pipeline swelling to an impressive Rs 3.86 lakh crore by September 2026. This figure, highlighted in a mid-term white paper by the Association of Investment Bankers of India (AIBI), is approximately 3.5 times the Rs 1.10 lakh crore already raised through 84 mainboard IPOs in the current year.
Robust Issuer Interest and Market Depth
The AIBI report, titled 'India Capital Markets: Navigating Geopolitics, Capital & Growth,' underscores a pivotal shift in India's primary market. It suggests a transition beyond episodic fundraising cycles towards a more profound and sustainable capital formation ecosystem. The substantial pipeline demonstrates sustained issuer confidence in public markets and offers clear visibility into the market's depth beyond the capital mobilized in 2026.
The pipeline comprises around 130 companies that have secured approval from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), accounting for approximately Rs 2.43 lakh crore. Additionally, another 75 companies have submitted their draft red herring prospectuses and are awaiting regulatory clearance, totaling about Rs 1.44 lakh crore.
“India’s primary market has moved well beyond an episodic fundraising cycle. We have already seen Rs 1.10 lakh crore mobilised through 84 mainboard IPOs in 2026 so far. The market has a Rs 3.86 lakh crore pipeline, including around Rs 2.43 lakh crore from companies that have received SEBI approval and another Rs 1.44 lakh crore awaiting approval,” stated Mahavir Lunawat, Chairman at AIBI.
Lunawat added, “This depth of supply and stronger participation demonstrates that the primary market is becoming a broader and more durable channel for capital formation. The larger structural shift is that India’s capital markets are increasingly being supported by domestic capital and a much wider capital formation architecture. Domestic investor participation has deepened.”
Expanding Fundraising Trends
Mainboard IPOs have collectively raised Rs 8.36 lakh crore between 2016 and the year-to-date in 2026. Annual fundraising has shown consistent growth, climbing from Rs 26,494 crore in 2016 to Rs 1.76 lakh crore in 2025. In 2026 alone, 84 issues have already mobilized Rs 1.10 lakh crore. The number of mainboard IPOs also increased significantly from 26 in 2016 to 103 in 2025.
Growth in SME Market and Intermediary Ecosystem
The robust growth isn't confined to large issuers. India's Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) IPO market recorded 267 issues in 2025, marking the highest annual number in the report's covered period, followed by 156 issues in 2026 year-to-date. Cumulative SME fundraising reached Rs 39,849 crore from 2016 to 2026 year-to-date, with the average SME issue size increasing from Rs 8 crore in 2016 to Rs 45 crore in 2026.
This heightened market activity has been supported by an expanding intermediary ecosystem. The number of registered merchant bankers grew by approximately 33%, from 188 in September 2016 to 250 in September 2026. Investor participation remains broad-based, with average subscription levels in 2026 year-to-date at about 49 times for Qualified Institutional Buyers (QIBs), 86 times for High Net-worth Individuals (HNI) investors, and 26 times for retail investors, although these levels can fluctuate significantly across different issues.
Challenges and Future Development
The AIBI identifies the next phase of India's primary market evolution as being shaped not just by the volume of companies entering the market, but also by the quality of issuers, the depth of institutional participation, the transparency of disclosures, the wider distribution of capital, and the ecosystem's capacity to support companies through successive growth stages.
The Rs 3.86 lakh crore pipeline, coupled with the expansion in mainboard fundraising, rising SME participation, and stronger intermediary capacity, solidifies the primary market's role as a structural pillar of capital formation. The ongoing challenge will be to translate this depth into efficient capital allocation, strengthen investor confidence, and foster sustainable long-term market development.