What is the story about?
India’s IPO market is undergoing a geographic shift, with participation expanding beyond traditional metros and gaining momentum in non-metro cities, according to
the Primary Pulse 2025 report by Pantomath Capital. While Mumbai continues to anchor the market, rising demand from Gujarat and smaller cities is shaping the next phase of growth in India’s capital markets.
Gujarat emerges as a strong non-metro cluster
Gujarat has emerged as the most prominent non-metro contributor to IPO demand. Cities such as Ahmedabad, Surat, Rajkot, Bhavnagar, Mehsana and Gandhinagar feature strongly across retail and HNI participation. As per the report, collectively, these cities account for a disproportionately high share of applications and collections, highlighting broad-based investor participation in the state.
Mumbai remains the anchor city
Mumbai continues to dominate IPO participation, accounting for around 37% of retail applications and 38% of HNI applications. The city contributes nearly 36-39% of total collections across both segments, supported by its concentration of financial intermediaries, high-net-worth individuals and market-experienced retail investors.
Also Read: Here are the biggest IPOs of 2025 and how they performed
Smaller cities exceed expectations
The report pointed to notable participation from smaller cities. Bhilai ranks second in retail applications with a 9% share and accounts for 10% of retail collections. Similar trends are visible in cities such as Kendrapara and Hisar in the HNI segment, indicating growing IPO engagement beyond major urban centres.
Apart from Mumbai, traditional metros such as Delhi and Chennai do not emerge as clear leaders. Their share of applications and collections, particularly in the retail segment, trails several smaller cities, suggesting a shift in IPO enthusiasm toward non-metro regions.
While HNI participation remains Mumbai-led, demand is more evenly distributed across cities including Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Surat, Rajkot and Chennai, reflecting a more decentralised wealth participation pattern.
Broader capital-raising ecosystem takes shape
The report noted that IPOs are increasingly complemented by other fund-raising avenues. Qualified Institutional Placements have become the most consistently used non-IPO route, with issuance peaking at ₹1.36 lakh crore across 95 issues in 2024. Rights issues show episodic but high-value issuance, while Follow-on Public Offers remain limited and opportunistic.
Outlook for 2026
According to the report, Indian capital markets enter 2026 from a position of structural strength. In 2025, 373 IPOs, including 103 mainboard and 270 SME issues, raised approximately ₹1.95 trillion, placing India first globally by number of IPOs. While issuance volumes are expected to moderate, activity is likely to remain elevated, supported by sustained participation from non-metro cities and a diversified capital-raising framework.
It added that the country’s capital markets are poised to facilitate close to ₹4 lakh crore of capital formation in 2026, underscoring the growing depth, scale, and maturity of India’s primary market ecosystem.
Gujarat emerges as a strong non-metro cluster
Gujarat has emerged as the most prominent non-metro contributor to IPO demand. Cities such as Ahmedabad, Surat, Rajkot, Bhavnagar, Mehsana and Gandhinagar feature strongly across retail and HNI participation. As per the report, collectively, these cities account for a disproportionately high share of applications and collections, highlighting broad-based investor participation in the state.
Mumbai remains the anchor city
Mumbai continues to dominate IPO participation, accounting for around 37% of retail applications and 38% of HNI applications. The city contributes nearly 36-39% of total collections across both segments, supported by its concentration of financial intermediaries, high-net-worth individuals and market-experienced retail investors.
Also Read: Here are the biggest IPOs of 2025 and how they performed
Smaller cities exceed expectations
The report pointed to notable participation from smaller cities. Bhilai ranks second in retail applications with a 9% share and accounts for 10% of retail collections. Similar trends are visible in cities such as Kendrapara and Hisar in the HNI segment, indicating growing IPO engagement beyond major urban centres.
Apart from Mumbai, traditional metros such as Delhi and Chennai do not emerge as clear leaders. Their share of applications and collections, particularly in the retail segment, trails several smaller cities, suggesting a shift in IPO enthusiasm toward non-metro regions.
While HNI participation remains Mumbai-led, demand is more evenly distributed across cities including Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Surat, Rajkot and Chennai, reflecting a more decentralised wealth participation pattern.
Broader capital-raising ecosystem takes shape
The report noted that IPOs are increasingly complemented by other fund-raising avenues. Qualified Institutional Placements have become the most consistently used non-IPO route, with issuance peaking at ₹1.36 lakh crore across 95 issues in 2024. Rights issues show episodic but high-value issuance, while Follow-on Public Offers remain limited and opportunistic.
Outlook for 2026
According to the report, Indian capital markets enter 2026 from a position of structural strength. In 2025, 373 IPOs, including 103 mainboard and 270 SME issues, raised approximately ₹1.95 trillion, placing India first globally by number of IPOs. While issuance volumes are expected to moderate, activity is likely to remain elevated, supported by sustained participation from non-metro cities and a diversified capital-raising framework.
It added that the country’s capital markets are poised to facilitate close to ₹4 lakh crore of capital formation in 2026, underscoring the growing depth, scale, and maturity of India’s primary market ecosystem.
