NSE revises eligibility criteria for migration from SME platform to mainboard

The National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) announced on 24 April 2025, the revision of eligibility criteria for companies seeking to migrate from the NSE SME Platform to the NSE Main Board. The revised guidelines, aimed at streamlining the migration process and enhancing the quality of listed companies, will come into effect from 1 May 2025.

Under the new criteria, companies will be required to have a minimum paid-up equity capital of Rs 10 crore and an average market capitalization of at least Rs 100 crore. Further, a company must have revenue from operations exceeding Rs 100 crore in the last financial year and must have posted a positive operating profit for at least two out of the last three financial years.

The revised guidelines also stipulate that the company should have been listed on the SME platform of the exchange for a minimum of three years, with a total of at least 500 public shareholders on the date of application. The promoter and promoter group must hold at least 20% of the company at the time of the application, and their holding must not fall below 50% of the shares they held at the time of listing when migrating to the Main Board.

Additionally, the company must meet several regulatory conditions. It must not have any ongoing proceedings under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code or received any winding-up petition admitted by the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT). The company's net worth should be at least Rs 75 crore, and there must be no material regulatory actions, such as suspension of trading, against the company or its promoters in the last three years. The company must also ensure that no director is disqualified or debarred by any regulatory authority, and there should be no pending investor complaints in the SCORES system.

A cooling period of two months will be mandatory for companies whose securities have recently moved out of the trade-to-trade category or have faced other surveillance actions. The company must also have no defaults in the payment of interest or principal to debenture holders, bondholders, or fixed deposit holders by the applicant, promoter, or subsidiary company.

Companies wishing to migrate will now need to meet stricter benchmarks in terms of financial performance and regulatory compliance. This move is expected to provide better opportunities for SMEs to transition to the mainboard, boosting their visibility and access to a broader investor base.

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