The SEBI (Securities & Exchange Board of India) Chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch says that the market regulator is working on several initiatives to streamline the IPO process and enhance transparency.

Speaking at the 21st annual capital markets conference, Viksit Bharat, in Mumbai, Buch revealed plans to introduce a simplified filing document to aid companies in the IPO filing process. “This initiative aims to simplify the requirements and make the process more accessible to companies,” Buch stated.

Buch emphasized the necessity of minimizing the clearing time for IPO applications and reducing the ageing of these applications. Highlighting India’s leadership in the global tally of IPO issuances, she also announced plans to release a consultation paper to strengthen the framework for Rights Issues and Preferential Allotments.

In terms of capital raised and stock exchanges, India ranks fifth globally, Buch noted, adding that Indian markets have demonstrated a compounded growth rate of 49 percent over the last five years—a growth rate unmatched by any other major economy. “If you look at the compounded growth rate of 49 percent over the last five years, nobody is equalling our growth rate,” she said.

Buch also mentioned that the National Stock Exchange (NSE) is developing an AI-based process for handling IPO documents. “We are working on AI-based processing of IPO documents. So we should be like this but with the assurance to the investor we’ve looked at it,” she added.

Reflecting on the broader economic impact, Buch stressed the importance of the financial economy in achieving the goal of Viksit Bharat. “An extremely important pillar for Viksit Bharat is the economy—the real economy, the financial economy, the markets. It is a matter of pride to us that in the global lead tables, India ranks number one in the total number of IPOs and issuances in the world.”