August 2025 witnessed a marked divergence in equity fundraising trends, with SME IPOs on the NSE Emerge platform recording a notable 40% month-on-month growth to Rs 843 crore, the second highest in the year, even as mainboard IPO proceeds moderated amid broader market uncertainties.
This information is based on NSE’s Market Pulse report for September 2025.
Despite a challenging global environment, total fund mobilisation via equity and debt fell to Rs 1.1 lakh crore in August, impacted by additional US tariffs and weaker market sentiment. However, equity capital raising through SME IPOs on the Emerge platform remained a bright spot, highlighting strong issuer confidence and sustained appetite from investors. In contrast, further issuances through equity on the mainboard dropped 78% month-on-month to Rs 8,029 crore, the lowest in three months.
The month saw robust listing activity on the NSE, with 31 companies making their debut- the highest in 11 months. These listings collectively added over Rs 84,000 crore in market capitalisation. Across both the mainboard and SME platforms, the first five months of FY26 have seen 90 companies get listed, collectively raising more than Rs 54,000 crore, with significant contributions from the Consumer Discretionary, Financials, and Industrials sectors, suggested reports.
A key trend in August was the shift in investor participation. On the mainboard, Qualified Institutional Buyers (QIBs) increased their share of allocation to 57% in August (up from 51% in July), while Retail Individual Investors’ (RIIs) share reduced slightly to 28.5%, with Non-Institutional Investors (NIIs) seeing marginal gains. Conversely, Emerge platform IPOs were predominantly retail-driven, with the RII share climbing to 37.8%, and NIIs’ share rising to 21.3%. Meanwhile, QIBs’ allocation in the SME segment eased to 35.3%, reflecting a more balanced investor mix.
The resilience of India’s macroeconomic fundamentals-particularly a 7.8% GDP print for the recent quarter and supportive GST reforms-provided a favourable backdrop for capital raising, even as global headwinds persisted. This resilience, combined with the ongoing strength of SME IPOs and marquee institutional participation, underscores the robustness of India’s capital markets, said the report.
The real surge of SME IPOs began post COVID -19, in terms of number of issues hitting the market, issue size, and participation levels, said Kresha Gupta , Director & Fund Manager at Steptrade Capital. “The SME platform has evolved dramatically from being in the news for bumper listing gain, to facing criticism for instances of manipulation and regulatory scrutiny, and now again being recognised for tighter implementation of norms.”
The successful listing of NSDL, raising over Rs 4,000 crore, further demonstrated institutional confidence in public markets, albeit the company listed on a different exchange. The broader mainboard pipeline remains healthy, despite the temporary slowdown in new equity issuances.
Looking at investor behaviour, the month underlined the differentiated roles of QIBs and retail investors, with QIBs dominating mainboard IPOs and retail investors playing a leading role in SME listings. This reflects a balanced and evolving capital market landscape, with both institutional and individual investors participating actively across segments.
The fact that SME IPOs are heavily dominated by retail participation has several reasons including possibilities of big listing day gains, increasing participation of QIBS and institutional investors, increasing awareness of the capital markets, an opportunity player in niche sectors and positive market sentiments, Gupta said.