CHENNAI, India: India's capital markets watchdog is preparing to unlock the long-delayed listing of the country's largest stock exchange, signalling that a crucial regulatory hurdle for the National Stock Exchange's initial public offering is set to be cleared within weeks.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) said on January 10 it would issue a no-objection certificate (NOC) to the National Stock Exchange later this month, a step that will allow the bourse to begin formal preparations for a public listing.

The NSE, which is also the world's most active derivatives exchange, has been locked in litigation with the Securities and Exchange Board of India since 2019. That year, the regulator fined the exchange 11 billion rupees (US$122.04 million) for failing to ensure equitable access to its trading systems for all members.

Reuters reported in June that the NSE had offered $160 million to settle the dispute.

"We will soon issue a NOC (no objection certificate) to NSE, and after that, they will start preparation," SEBI chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey told reporters in Chennai.

Pandey said the approval would be issued this month. The NOC will allow the NSE to start drafting its IPO prospectus and marks a critical procedural step toward eventual listing approval, given the unresolved issues stemming from the long-running regulatory case.

Once the certificate is issued, the exchange can formally begin work on its market debut, which has been anticipated for years by investors and market participants but repeatedly delayed by the dispute with the regulator.