The National Stock Exchange of India could move closer to its long-awaited IPO after India reduced the minimum shareholding large companies must offer to the public when listing.The regulator had proposed last year to cut the minimum public float for very large companies. Under the new rules, companies expected to be valued at over ₹5 lakh crore ($57 billion) after listing will now need to sell only 2.5% of their paid-up capital in the IPO. The government has now formally notified the change, bringing the rule into effect.

The revisions were included in a set of rules issued late on Friday. Key provisions include:

• At least 2.5% of each class of equity shares must be offered to the public at the time of listing.
• A mandatory glide path has been introduced to achieve the required 25% public shareholding. Companies listing with less than 15% public float will have five years to reach 15% and ten years to reach 25%.
• Companies with a market capitalisation between ₹1 lakh crore and ₹5 lakh crore must maintain a minimum public float of 2.75%.
• Firms valued between ₹50,000 crore and ₹1 lakh crore will be required to have at least 8% public shareholding.
• The rules also state that if a company has equity shares with superior voting rights, it must list those shares alongside ordinary shares when listing.