As many as 29 companies filed draft red herring prospectuses (DRHP) for public listings in August this year. According to the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) data, this is the highest number of companies filing draft prospectuses for IPO rollout in a month in the last 17 years (the period for which such data is available).

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The previous record for the highest number of companies filing DRHP was 22. This was recorded thrice - in February and December 2006, and in September 2010. Meanwhile, the monthly average of DRHP filings in a month is around 6.2 between June 2004 and August 2021.

This year, big companies, including Zomato, Barbeque Nation Hospitality Limited, and PSU NBFC, among others, have already rolled out their IPOs and firms, including the LIC, Paytm, and PolicyBazaar, among others, are expected to issue their maiden shares soon.

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According to market experts, this IPO rush comes on the back of the excellent performance of the stock markets in the wake of increased investment by people - from first-time investors to high net worth individuals - in the stock market.

Confirming this hypothesis, a State Bank of India (SBI) report revealed that more than 14.2 million new individual investors participated in stock markets in 2020-21.

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Besides, several companies are also rolling out IPOs to raise capital in the wake of losses during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Also, stock market benchmark indices — BSE Sensex and Nifty50 — are hitting record highs despite the pandemic. Consequently, companies are securing a bigger valuation than their expectation during the public listing.

Not to forget, Sebi has eased the process of listing startups in India.