The NSE‘s Market Pulse report for March 2026, released on Tuesday, stated that India’s primary market has remained robust in the fiscal year 2025–26 thus far, with record fundraising on the mainboard even as activity in the SME sector has decreased somewhat.

The main board IPO sector maintained its impressive results throughout the year. Between April and February, up to 99 businesses went public with their offerings, raising a combined amount of Rs 1. 65 lakh crore.

The prior fiscal year saw 79 IPOs raise a total of Rs 1. 62 lakh crore, which is more than this. The increase is a sign of ongoing investor demand for significant public offerings.

Conversely, the SME industry saw a little moderation. So far in FY26, there have been 105 IPOs on the NSE Emerge platform, generating Rs 5,121 crore. The number of SME IPOs in FY25, which generated over Rs 7,000 crore, was less than this.

During FY26 to date, 204 businesses in total, in both segments, raised Rs 1. 70 lakh crore through IPOs. In contrast, 242 businesses had generated Rs 1. 69 lakh crore the year before. Due to bigger issue sizes, this suggests that the overall amount of money raised remained high despite the decline in the number of IPOs.

The report also emphasized a consistent rise in the average size of SME IPOs. The typical issue size has increased dramatically over the years, going from Rs 13 crore in FY20 to Rs 44 crore in FY25, and then to approximately Rs 50 crore in FY26 thus far. This indicates that the environment for SME fundraising is maturing.

In terms of industry, financial services firms were the largest contributors to mainboard capital raising, accounting for 34% of the total. Industrial enterprises contributed 11%, while discretionary consumer enterprises followed with 31%. Industrial firms accounted for the majority of the SME market, with 36% of the market share, followed by consumer discretionary items at 23% and materials at 10%.

Businesses in Maharashtra raised the most money at Rs 5,830 crore. Companies headquartered in Delhi raised Rs 3,643 crore, while those in Gujarat followed with Rs 4,794 crore. With a market value of listed SME enterprises of Rs 48,428 crore, Maharashtra also came out on top, closely followed by Gujarat and Delhi.