India’s primary market is showing a noticeable change in investor behaviour, with retail investors becoming more selective about new IPOs. According to the latest data, retail investors did not fully subscribe to their reserved portion in nearly one-third of the 42 mainboard IPOs launched in 2026 so far.
Only 16 of those 42 IPOs attracted retail subscription above five times the reserved quota, compared with 63% of issues in 2025 and 68% in 2024. The median retail subscription has also fallen sharply to around 2.32 times, compared with 17.59 times in 2024.
The shift suggests that investors are paying greater attention to valuation, corporate governance, profitability and actual business growth, rather than simply chasing a listing premium. This could make the IPO market more quality-driven going forward.
