What Is an IPO (Initial Public Offering)?
An IPO — Initial Public Offering — is the process by which a privately held company sells its shares to the public for the first time and gets listed on a stock exchange. After an IPO, anyone can buy and sell the company's shares in the open market.
Why companies go public
An IPO raises capital the company can use to grow, repay debt, or let early investors and founders partially cash out. It also brings scrutiny: a listed company must disclose financials regularly and answer to public shareholders.
How the process works in India
The company files a prospectus with SEBI, sets a price band, and opens the issue for subscription. Investors apply (often via the ASBA/UPI process); shares are allotted; and the stock lists on the NSE and/or BSE on listing day, when it starts trading at a market-determined price that can be above or below the issue price.
After listing
Once listed, the company becomes a normal tradable stock with a stock page, price history, and — after its first few results — financials. A freshly listed company may have limited history until those filings accumulate.