Jan 16: Jndian capital markets will continue to prioritise profitability, transparency and strong corporate governance despite a surge in initial public offerings, said Ashish Kumar Chauhan, NSE Chief, during IPO Baatcheet, a special show by Startup Policy Forum (SPF).
Chauhan said India’s public markets differ fundamentally from more risk-tolerant markets, with Indian investors, both institutional and retail, placing greater emphasis on sustainable businesses and investor protection. “Broadly speaking, India is about profitability, about transparency and about better corporate governance.” he said.
Emphasising the importance of trust in public markets, Chauhan said strong corporate governance remains central to sustaining investor confidence, particularly as retail participation continues to deepen. “Corporate governance is the backbone of this trust. It’s like a pond out of which we all drink… it’s easy to destroy that trust, but very difficult to build,” he said.
Addressing founders of listed companies, Chauhan said promoters must recognise the responsibility that comes with managing public capital and consistently prioritise shareholders. “Whenever in doubt, take the decision in favour of the other investors, not yourself. Even if it is legally allowed, don’t do that because morally it may not be correct,” he said, referring to the need to reduce asymmetries of information and power between insiders and public investors.
Chauhan cautioned against viewing new-age IPOs as assured wealth creators, noting that long-term outcomes will be determined by post-listing performance over one-, two- and five-year periods. He said public markets carry inherent risks and that returns depend on business fundamentals, governance standards and market cycles.
Reflecting on the evolution of India’s capital markets, Chauhan highlighted the growth of retail participation, with over 12 crore unique investors at NSE today, representing nearly 25 per cent of Indian households. He said this reflects increasing trust among households in entrepreneurs and market institutions.
He also warned investors against speculative behaviour driven by greed and unrealistic expectations. “Stock market is not a game,” Chauhan said, adding that becoming wealthy through markets requires understanding, patience, study and discipline.
On derivatives trading, Chauhan issued a direct caution to retail investors. “Don’t trade in derivatives if you’re a retail investor. If you don’t know the risks associated, you should not come into the derivatives market,” he said, while noting that derivatives are effective instruments only when used by trained participants with the capacity to absorb losses.
Chauhan also spoke about NSE’s technology capabilities, noting that the exchange has the capacity to process up to 60 lakh orders per second, operates with microsecond response times progressing towards nanoseconds, and has strengthened its cyber resilience. He cited instances where the exchange has faced up to 40 crore cyber attacks on its website within a span of 20 minutes.
The interaction formed part of IPO Baatcheet, Startup Policy Forum’s thought leadership platform focused on India’s public markets and the transition of new-age companies into listed entities. During the discussion, Shweta Rajpal Kohli, CEO and President, Startup Policy Forum, said SPF is setting up a Centre for New-Age Public Companies to support companies as they prepare for listing and navigate life after going public. “Our fundamental belief is that new-age companies need a lot more handholding, capacity building and institutional understanding,” she said.
The Centre aims to support founders and leadership teams both before and after listing, as India continues to witness strong momentum in public market participation and new-age IPOs.