NSE IPO May Unlock ₹12,000 Cr for Struggling State

A Windfall in Waiting

Should NSE go public at even a conservative price of ₹1,500 per share, the combined value of these holdings would clock in at ₹11,500–12,000 crore. Spread across the three companies, that works out to roughly ₹4,500 crore each, a capital that could lift their solvency ratios by close to 100 basis points, mirroring the effect of a direct government infusion of equivalent size.

The urgency is hard to overstate. All three insurers are not just below the regulatory solvency threshold of 1.5 times the required margin, they are deep in negative territory. As of March 2025, Oriental Insurance was the worst placed at -1.03, followed by National Insurance at -0.67 and United India Insurance at -0.65. The trajectory has been consistently downward; in June 2024, National Insurance stood at -0.46 and United India at -0.73.

The contrast with listed peer New India Assurance is stark, the company has held a solvency ratio of around 1.9, well above what regulators require.

The Root of the Problem

Weak underwriting and persistent losses, especially when gains from fair value changes are stripped out, have driven this deterioration. Rating agency ICRA has previously estimated that the three companies may collectively need between ₹15,200 crore and ₹17,000 crore to restore solvency to the mandated level. Separately, reports suggest the government is weighing a capital infusion of up to ₹5,000 crore into the trio.

An NSE listing would not solve everything, but it would move the needle. Once listed, the exchange's shares can be marked to market value rather than the subdued valuations applied to unlisted securities, effectively unlocking capital that already exists on these insurers' books without requiring fresh public money.