Representative image. Photo: Niyantha Shekhar, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Updated
Why it matters
This is the largest share sale India has seen, and the minimum bid of about ₹13,400 puts it within reach of many small investors. Almost all of the money will repay telecom debt rather than fund new spending. How it lists on 28 October will shape the mood for other large IPOs planned in India.
The Jio IPO, India’s biggest share sale so far, opens for bids on 21 October 2026 and closes on 23 October. Jio Platforms, the telecom and digital arm of Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries, has set a price band of ₹1,065 to ₹1,119 a share and wants to raise about ₹30,213 crore. A retail investor needs at least ₹13,428 to apply for one lot at the top of the range.
Large funds have already placed their bets on the Jio IPO. On 19 October, a day before a market holiday for Dussehra, the company raised a little over ₹8,100 crore from anchor investors.
Jio IPO price band, lot size and key dates
Shares are sold in lots of 12, so one lot costs ₹12,780 at the lower end of the band and ₹13,428 at the upper end, according to Outlook Money. Allotment is expected on 26 October, and the shares are due to list on the NSE and BSE on 28 October. KFin Technologies is the registrar.
The whole issue is new shares, about 27 crore of them. There is no offer for sale, which means no existing shareholder, including Reliance, is cashing out in this Jio IPO. All the money goes to the company.
Two groups get a separate slice. Up to ₹2,500 crore of shares are set aside for Reliance Industries shareholders, and up to 46.9 lakh shares for employees, who get a discount of ₹54 a share on the final price, Outlook Money reported.
How anchor investors backed the Jio IPO
The company allotted 7,24,74,066 shares at ₹1,119 each to 212 anchor investors, raising ₹8,109.85 crore, an exchange filing showed. Business Today reported that bids in the anchor round topped ₹2.5 lakh crore, more than 30 times the shares on offer.
Life Insurance Corporation took the largest single allocation, close to ₹500 crore. Domestic mutual funds together took about 34% of the anchor book, worth roughly ₹2,785 crore. Foreign names included the Government of Singapore, the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, Norway’s Norges Bank Investment Management and BlackRock.
Put another way, anchors have already taken up a little more than a quarter of the total issue size. That leaves about ₹22,100 crore for the public offer that opens on Wednesday.
Where the ₹30,213 crore will go
Most of the Jio IPO money will pay down debt. Jio Platforms plans to use ₹27,500 crore to repay or prepay loans taken by Reliance Jio Infocomm, its main telecom company, and the rest for general corporate purposes. By that count, about 91% of the money raised goes to cutting borrowings.
The group’s total debt stood at ₹61,372 crore on 30 June 2026, down from ₹70,781 crore at the end of March, according to figures cited by Outlook Money. If the full ₹27,500 crore is used as planned, the June debt figure would come down by about 45%.
What the numbers say about Jio Platforms
Jio Platforms reported total income of about ₹1.5 lakh crore and a net profit of ₹30,053 crore for the year to March 2026. Profit was ₹26,120 crore a year earlier, so it grew by roughly 15%. For the June 2026 quarter, net profit was ₹7,764 crore.
Reliance Jio Infocomm had 533.3 million customers on 30 June 2026. That subscriber base is a big part of why the Jio IPO has drawn so much interest from both funds and small investors.
At the top of the band, the Jio IPO values the company at about ₹10.3 lakh crore. Divided by last year’s profit, that works out to roughly 34 times earnings, a simple measure investors use to judge how expensive a share is.
Grey market premium and what to watch
In the unofficial grey market, where shares trade informally before listing, Jio Platforms was quoted at a premium of ₹243 a share on 20 October, Outlook Money reported. Business Today put the figure at ₹250 to ₹255. Both outlets noted that this premium is not a guarantee of how the stock will open on listing day.
The first sign of public demand for the Jio IPO will be the subscription figures that the exchanges publish during each bidding day. Bidding closes on 23 October. Allotment status will be visible on the registrar’s website after 26 October.
For readers following other big market news this month, NewsPlainly’s business coverage tracks oil prices and the rupee, which have weighed on Indian shares in October.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Jio IPO price band?
₹1,065 to ₹1,119 per share. Shares are sold in lots of 12.
What is the minimum investment in the Jio IPO?
One lot of 12 shares costs ₹13,428 at the upper end of the price band and ₹12,780 at the lower end.
When is the Jio IPO allotment and listing date?
Allotment is expected on 26 October 2026 and listing on the NSE and BSE on 28 October 2026.
Is there a quota for Reliance shareholders?
Yes. Up to ₹2,500 crore of shares are reserved for Reliance Industries shareholders, according to Outlook Money.