Guides
Three guide books on India’s primary market
Each book reads end to end — start at guide one and work through, or jump to the topic you need. IPOs, public issues of debentures, and buyback tender offers.
3 books40 guides3 hours of reading
The IPO GuideTwenty-six guides covering the entire Indian IPO process, from first principles to listing day and beyond.Start reading →The NCD GuideEight guides on public issues of non-convertible debentures — structure, yield, credit and tax.Start reading →The Buyback GuideSix guides on participating in a tender offer buyback, and the arithmetic that decides whether it is worth it.Start reading →
The IPO Guide
The whole primary market process, in order — from what an IPO actually is, through the issue mechanics, to the moment shares land in a demat account. Written for investors, and for the desks that serve them.
IPO BasicsWhat an IPO is, why companies list, and the shapes an issue can take.
01What Is an IPO? A Plain-English Guide for Indian InvestorsAn initial public offering is the first sale of a company's shares to the public. Here is what actually happens, who the money goes to, and what changes for the company once it lists.02Why Companies Go Public — And Why Some Never DoRaising capital is only one reason a company lists. Here are the real motivations behind an IPO, the costs that come with it, and what the mix tells you about the issue in front of you.03Mainboard vs SME IPO — What Actually DiffersSME IPOs list on NSE Emerge or BSE SME under lighter rules, with lot sizes near a lakh rupees and far thinner liquidity. Here is every practical difference from a mainboard issue.04Fresh Issue, OFS, Book Building — IPO Structures ExplainedEvery IPO is built from a few standard components. Understand fresh issue versus offer for sale, book building versus fixed price, and the reservations that split an issue between investor categories.
The Issue ProcessThe full journey from board resolution to listing bell, step by step.
05The IPO Process in India, Step by StepThe complete journey from board resolution to listing bell — every stage, who runs it, how long it takes, and what becomes public along the way.06DRHP, RHP and Prospectus — Which Document Says WhatAn IPO produces four offer documents in sequence. Here is what each one contains, what it deliberately leaves out, and which one you should actually be reading before you apply.07What SEBI Actually Does When It Reviews an IPOSEBI's observation letter is routinely mistaken for approval of an issue. Here is what the regulator really examines, what it explicitly does not, and how to read its role correctly.08Anchor Investors and How the IPO Price Is DiscoveredThe anchor book is allotted a day before the issue opens and is the first hard signal of institutional demand. Here is how anchor allocation works and how the final issue price actually gets set.09Who Does What in an IPO — Every Intermediary ExplainedA single IPO involves a merchant banker, a registrar, syndicate members, self-certified syndicate banks, a sponsor bank and two depositories. Here is the role each one plays and who to contact when something goes wrong.
ApplyingHow to actually place a bid, pay for it, and not get rejected.
10How to Apply for an IPO in India — The Complete WalkthroughWhat you need before you start, the three routes for submitting a bid, what happens to your money, and the timeline from application to shares appearing in your demat account.11ASBA and the UPI Mandate — How IPO Payment Actually WorksYour money is blocked, not paid. Here is how ASBA works, how the UPI mandate route sits on top of it, and how to fix the mandate failures that cost people their allotment.12IPO Investor Categories — RII, NII, QIB and the Limits on EachWhich bucket you bid in changes your reservation, your allotment method and whether you can withdraw. A practical guide to retail, HNI, institutional and reserved categories.13Lot Size, Price Band and Cut-Off Price — What to Actually EnterHow much one lot costs, why money is blocked at the cap price, and why almost every retail investor should tick cut-off rather than name a number.14Why IPO Applications Get Rejected — And How to Avoid ItA rejected application is not in the draw at all. Here are the errors that cause technical rejection, in the order they actually occur, and the checks that eliminate each one.
AllotmentHow shares are handed out, and what actually improves your odds.
15How IPO Allotment Works — Subscription, Lottery and Basis of AllotmentWhat happens between the issue closing and shares reaching your demat account: how subscription is counted, how each category is allotted, and how to read the basis of allotment.16How to Check IPO Allotment StatusWhere to look, what you need, when the data actually goes live, and what to do when the status says something you were not expecting.17How to Improve Your IPO Allotment Chances — HonestlyMost advice on this topic is wrong. Here is what genuinely changes your odds in an oversubscribed issue, what makes no difference at all, and what will get your application rejected.
Analysing an IssueReading the offer document, judging the price, spotting the warning signs.
18How to Read an RHP in Under Two HoursA red herring prospectus runs to hundreds of pages. Six sections carry almost all the decision-relevant information — here is what they are, in the order worth reading them.19IPO Valuation — How to Judge Whether the Price Is FairWork out the market capitalisation first, then check the multiples against real peers and against the price paid in recent pre-IPO deals. A practical method that takes about thirty minutes.20Grey Market Premium — What It Really Tells YouGMP is an unofficial, unregulated, thinly traded quote that moves on sentiment. It is a useful sentiment reading and a poor forecast. Here is how to use it without being misled.21IPO Red Flags — What Should Make You Walk AwayEvery warning sign here is disclosed in the offer document. The problem is not that the information is hidden; it is that almost nobody looks for it.
Listing & AfterListing day mechanics, lock-in expiries, and the exit decision.
22IPO Listing Day — The Pre-Open Session and Circuits ExplainedHow the opening price is actually discovered, why a stock can lock at a circuit before you can trade it, and what the first hour of a new listing really looks like.23Lock-In Expiries — The Supply Events Nobody DiarisesAnchor, promoter and pre-IPO lock-ins expire on dates published in the offer document. Each one releases a known quantity of stock into a market that may not be able to absorb it.24When to Sell an IPO AllotmentSell on listing, sell after the lock-in noise, or hold the business — three defensible answers. What is not defensible is deciding at 10:04 a.m. on listing day.
For BrokersRunning IPO applications at branch and network scale.
25Running IPO Season at Scale — Bulk Applications for Broking DesksCollecting bids from thousands of clients across a branch network is a data problem before it is a market problem. Here is where desks lose applications, and how the workflow should be structured.26ASBA Form Printing — The Workflow Behind Physical IPO ApplicationsPhysical ASBA forms are still how a large part of India applies. Here is why coordinate-mapped printing exists, where hand-filled forms fail, and how a print workflow should be structured.
The NCD Guide
Fixed income from the primary market. What a debenture actually is, how a public issue is structured into series, how to compare coupons honestly, and what the credit rating is really telling you.
NCD BasicsWhat a debenture is, and how a public issue reaches retail investors.
01What Is an NCD? Lending to a Company, ExplainedA non-convertible debenture is a loan you make to a company in exchange for a fixed coupon and your principal back at maturity. Here is what you actually own, and what stands behind it.02Secured vs Unsecured NCDs — What the Charge Actually Gives YouA secured debenture has a charge on the issuer's assets held by a trustee for all holders. Here is what that protection is worth in practice, and why unsecured series pay more.03NCD vs Fixed Deposit — An Honest ComparisonNCDs usually pay more than bank deposits. The extra is compensation for credit risk, illiquidity and the absence of deposit insurance — here is how the two actually compare.
Structure & YieldSeries, tenor, coupon frequency — and why effective yield is the number to use.
04Reading an NCD Issue — Series, Tenor and Coupon FrequencyOne NCD issue is really several instruments sold side by side. Here is how to read the series table, and what tenor and payment frequency actually do to your return.05Coupon vs Effective Yield vs YTM — Which Number to UseThe coupon is what the poster advertises. Effective yield is what you earn on a new issue. YTM is what you earn buying on the exchange. Three numbers, three different questions.
Credit QualityRatings, security cover, and what the extra coupon is paying you for.
Applying & TaxGetting an allotment, and what you keep after tax.
07How to Apply for an NCD Public IssueNCD allotment is first-come-first-served, not a lottery. That single difference from an IPO changes the tactics completely — here is the full application process.08How NCDs Are Taxed in IndiaInterest is taxed at your slab rate, TDS applies to listed debentures since April 2023, and cumulative NCDs create a liability before any cash arrives. The post-tax picture, laid out.
The Buyback Guide
Buybacks run on ratios — entitlement, acceptance, reservation. What actually happens when a tender offer opens, how much of your holding gets bought, and what you keep after tax.
Buyback BasicsWhat a buyback is, why companies run one, and which routes still exist.
01What Is a Share Buyback, and Why Do Companies Run One?A buyback is a company using its own cash to purchase and cancel its own shares. Here is what it does to the share count, why boards choose it over a dividend, and what it signals.02Tender Offer vs Open Market — Why Only One Route RemainsSEBI phased out the open market buyback route through stock exchanges. Here is how the two mechanisms differed, why the tender offer won, and what that means for shareholders.
ParticipatingRecord date, entitlement, tendering, and how much actually gets accepted.
03How to Tender Shares in a BuybackThe record date, the entitlement, the offer window, and the exchange acquisition window. A step-by-step walkthrough of participating in a tender offer buyback.04Entitlement Ratio and Acceptance Ratio — The Two Numbers That Decide EverythingEntitlement is what you may tender. Acceptance is what actually gets bought. The gap between them is where most buyback expectations go wrong.05Buyback Arbitrage — The Trade, and Why It Is Not Free MoneyBuy before the record date, tender at the premium, sell what comes back. The gain on the accepted portion has to cover the loss on the rest — and since 2024, the tax.
Tax & ReturnsWhat the buyback arbitrage really earns after the 2024 tax change.
Look It Up
Hit a term you don’t know?
Six glossaries sit alongside these guides — every term defined, and deep-linkable from any paragraph.
Reading about the process is one thing. Running it is another.
BidFlow turns every step in these guides into software — bulk applications, ASBA form printing, live data and allotment tracking for your whole network.