New Delhi, Nov. 5 -- Beneath the headlines of record listings, India's primary market surge is being driven by smaller, downsized offerings as issuers prioritize locking in current liquidity over ambitious fundraising targets.

While the September quarter registered a record 63 initial public offerings (IPOs)-with 32 in September alone, including six on a single day-smaller issues kept values below record levels.

The average IPO size in 2026 stood at about Rs.1,450 crore at the end of October. This was across 109 offerings of shares worth a combined Rs.1.58 trillion, compared with 103 IPOs that sold Rs.1.76 trillion of shares in 2025. Stripping out the four largest IPOs-Jio Platforms Ltd, the National Stock Exchange of India Ltd, Manipal...