The great Indian IPO lottery

Applying for IPOs has quietly become a national pastime. Every few weeks, millions of investors line up online, hoping for that one lucky allotment. The attraction isn’t ownership, growth or dividends. It’s the promise of listing gains. In a market obsessed with “instant returns,” IPOs are the new scratch cards. The numbers tell a clear story. Between 2000 and 2019, Indian companies raised Rs 4 lakh crore via IPOs. But since 2020, they’ve raised Rs 5 lakh crore—more in five years than in the previous two decades combined. IPOs, it seems, flourish when optimism peaks. The 2003-07 bull run saw Rs 1.15 lakh crore raised; 2015-17 saw another Rs 1.03 lakh crore; and since 2020, Rs 5 lakh crore and counting. When investors are euphoric, promoters don’t miss the chance to cash in. Are investors lining up out of long-term interest? Not at all. The game is played for listing gains. And yet, for all the frenzy, the math

This article was originally published on November 18, 2025.