MUMBAI, March 16 -- The National Stock Exchange of India Ltd (NSE) has lined up a record 20 merchant bankers for its initial public offering (IPO), seeking to manage one of India's largest listings while aligning the interests of powerful market participants ahead of the deal.

The large roster reflects the exchange's effort to market the offer widely and ensure broad participation from major institutional investors. Bankers and advisers said bringing most leading equity capital markets firms into the transaction could help manage distribution, price discovery and anchor allocations while limiting potential criticism of the IPO's valuation or process.

NSE's IPO is likely to be among India's largest offerings with a potential 4-4.5% stake...