Upcoming IPOs in India
Quick answer: To evaluate a mainboard IPO, read where the money is going, check several years of revenue, profit, debt and cash flow, compare the valuation at the upper price band with listed peers, and look at who the promoters are. Subscription numbers and GMP describe short-term mood, not business quality. That holds for every one of the upcoming IPOs in India.
Every time a well-known company files for an IPO, the same thing happens. Friends forward the dates, someone quotes the grey market premium, and applications go in within minutes. The appeal is easy to see: a chance to own a piece of a growing business at the start of its public life, sometimes with a listing gain on top.
The trouble is that the application takes two minutes and the research is skipped. The price band comes out a couple of days before the issue opens, and the window shuts in three working days. This piece is about using that short stretch well, so that you apply because you understood the issue, not because everyone else did.
An initial public offering is the first time a company sells shares to the public. Until then, the owners are founders, families and private investors. Afterwards, anyone with a demat account can buy, and the shares trade on NSE and BSE.
The route is fairly standard. The company files a Draft Red Herring Prospectus with SEBI, then files the final Red Herring Prospectus once the IPO price band, issue size and dates are set. Anchor investors, mostly large institutions, receive shares a day before the issue opens. It then stays open for three working days, allotment follows, and shares usually list within three working days of closing.
Dates move. Issues get postponed when markets turn rough, so check any date against the RHP or the exchange notice instead of trusting a forwarded screenshot.
Mainboard IPOs in India come from larger, established companies that meet the profit, net worth and track record requirements of the main boards of NSE and BSE. Retail investors can bid up to ₹2 lakh per PAN, and the minimum lot is usually around ₹14,000 to ₹15,000. After listing, these stocks generally trade with far deeper liquidity and attract analyst coverage.
SME IPOs list on separate platforms, with much larger lot sizes, thinner trading and a narrower investor base. They carry a different level of risk, so treat them as a separate decision.
A calendar is a shortlist, not a recommendation. What you want from it: opening and closing dates, price band, lot size and issue size. Malik Times keeps an upcoming IPO list where these details sit in one place, which helps you plan reading time before the window opens. If you prefer the full page directly, it is at https://maliktimes.in/upcoming-ipo/.
Whatever source you use, confirm the numbers you intend to act on against official documents. Malik Times Upcoming IPOs is one of several places to check, and comparing two or three is a sensible habit.
Nobody reads all 400 pages of an offer document, but these six areas decide most of the outcome. Our coverage of mainboard IPOs in India is a useful place to see current issues while you work through them.
1. Financial performance. Look at three to five years, not the latest quarter. One strong year before listing proves little.
2. Revenue and profit growth. Check whether growth is steady and whether margins are holding. Sudden jumps just before an IPO deserve a second look.
3. Debt and cash flow. Put profit beside operating cash flow. Rising profits with weak cash flow, year after year, are a warning. Note the debt level and whether the proceeds will reduce it.
4. Valuation against listed peers. This is how to evaluate an IPO at the price level. Take the upper band, work out market capitalisation on post-issue shares, and calculate P/E, or EV/EBITDA for capital-heavy businesses. Compare with listed companies in the same sector. A premium needs a real reason, such as faster growth or stronger returns. “The sector is hot” is not one.
5. Promoters and governance. Read the promoters’ backgrounds, pending litigation, related-party dealings and the lock-in period. If promoters can sell soon after listing, factor that in.
6. Fresh issue versus offer for sale. A fresh issue puts money into the company. An offer for sale puts it into existing shareholders’ pockets. Both are normal, but an issue made up mostly of OFS should make you ask why insiders want out now.
Subscription shows how many times the shares on offer were bid for, split among institutions, non-institutional investors and retail. Read the split. Strong institutional demand is the more credible signal, while a huge multiple driven by wealthy bidders using borrowed money for a few days says less.
The grey market premium is the unofficial amount over the issue price at which shares trade before listing. Add it to the issue price for an estimated listing price. It comes from an unregulated market with few participants, and two websites can quote different numbers in the same hour. It tells you about mood.
Neither number guarantees a listing gain, and neither says anything about how the business will perform in the years afterward. Plenty of heavily subscribed issues with strong premiums have slipped below issue price within months.
Applying because of hype. A crowded window shows popularity, which isn’t the same as soundness.
Skipping the offer document and the valuation. A good company at a rich price can lose money for years.
Assuming a listing gain is guaranteed. Some issues list flat, and some list lower.
Not deciding your purpose. A listing-day trade and a long-term holding need different research.
Oversizing the bet. Set your limit before the issue opens, not after you see the subscription figures.
Use more than one source. The exchanges, SEBI and the offer documents are the primary record, and news sites help with context and timing. Malik Times IPO News and Malik Times IPO Updates are among the places readers can follow issue dates, price bands and developments, and Malik Times Mainboard IPO News covers the larger issues. Compare what you read across sources, and verify anything you plan to act on.
The calendar tells you what is coming. Your research tells you whether to take part. Before applying, you should be able to say in plain words what the company does, where the money goes, how its numbers have moved, whether the price is reasonable against peers and what could go wrong. If any of those answers is vague, skip the issue. Another one will be along within weeks.
Disclaimer: This article is for educational purposes only and is not investment advice. IPOs carry market risk, and you can lose part or all of your investment. Grey market activity is unofficial and unregulated. Read the offer document carefully and consult a SEBI-registered advisor before investing.
