Video KYC, shorter OFS timelines, and easier Demat account rules are among the regulatory tweaks that have cleared the path for XED Executive Development Ltd to launch its first IPO in GIFT City this March, making it the first Indian company to test the waters in the International Financial Services Centre. The promoters — John Kallelil and the chief financial officer Piyush Agrawal, classmates from Basil school in Vadodara — say these adjustments were critical in enabling the offering for global investors.

“We faced practical hurdles that no one had encountered before,” said Kallelil, based in New York. “For instance, many of our overseas investors didn’t have Demat accounts in India. IFSCA allowed applications without an existing Demat for this IPO, which was a huge relief. They also permitted video KYC, a six-month OFS instead of the earlier one-year window, and extended the acceptable age of financial statements from 135 to 180 days. These tweaks made it feasible to go ahead with our IPO,” he added.

The company’s IPO opens on March 6 and closes on March 18. It has set a price band of $10 – $10.5 per share.

Founded in 2018, XED Executive Development specialises in high-touch executive education programmes. Kallelil and Agrawal, along with colleagues from Indian School of Business and IIT Kanpur, have expanded XED’s operations globally—from India and Singapore to the US and Middle East—offering customised programmes with universities like Oxford, Cornell, Carnegie Mellon, and Singapore Management University. John said about 50-60 per cent of XED’s revenue comes from public programmes and 40-50 per cent from enterprise programmes delivered worldwide.

The GIFT City IPO is being positioned primarily for NRIs and foreign investors, with India-based residents ineligible to participate due to offshore listing rules. “Our target market is the Middle East, particularly the UAE, and Southeast Asia,” Piyush said. “We are also engaging distributors to eventually expand access in the US,” said Agrawal.

Apart from raising capital, the company plans to invest part of the proceeds in creating dedicated executive education campuses. Kallelil explained, “When the average participant has 15-24 years of professional experience, a standard classroom isn’t enough. We want spaces that mirror top global executive classrooms, efficient yet luxurious, so senior leaders can focus on learning.” Locations under consideration include GIFT City, Mumbai and Dubai, where XED runs part of its modules.

XED is raising $12 million in total through the IPO, including a 0.6 million-share allocation for market-making purposes. “This ensures liquidity for investors post-listing,” Agrawal said. Of the total, 9.6 million is a fresh issue to fund growth, while the remaining 2.4 million comes from an offer-for-sale to early angel investors. Post-IPO, the promoters together will hold around 60-63 per cent of the company.

Kallelil emphasised that the apparent losses on XED’s books in prior periods are primarily due to revenue recognition timing. “A programme sold in FY25, for instance, might be delivered over 10 months. Costs are recognised upfront while revenue is recognised only as modules are delivered. So the P&L shows a loss, but the business is growing robustly,” he remarked.

The IPO in March marks a first for both XED and GIFT City’s capital markets. The company and its promoters credit the regulators for a hands-on approach. “IFSCA was incredibly supportive—they fast-tracked depository participant approvals, helped adjust timelines, and even allowed flexibility on financial disclosures,” Kallelil said. “These were small but critical nudges that made the listing viable for a company like ours,” he added.

Published on February 27, 2026

Markets ended the week on a deeply negative note on Friday, February 27, with the BSE Sensex crashing 961.42 points, or 1.17 per cent, to close at 81,287.19, while the NSE Nifty 50 shed 317.90 points, or 1.25 per cent, to settle at 25,178.65 — breaching the psychologically significant 25,200 mark and slipping below its 200-day EMA, a key long-term trend indicator signalling that sellers are firmly in control.

The breakdown was sharp and broad-based. Of the 4,369 stocks traded on the BSE, 2,633 declined against 1,574 advances, while 340 stocks hit fresh 52-week lows compared to just 100 reaching new highs. Six stocks were locked in the lower circuit. The Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 indices slipped 1.14 per cent and 1.10 per cent, respectively. On a weekly basis, both the Sensex and Nifty registered losses of 1.5 per cent each.

Foreign institutional investors were aggressive sellers on the day, with FIIs/FPIs recording a provisional net sell of ₹7,536.36 crore (gross purchases of ₹36,699.66 crore against gross sales of ₹44,236.02 crore) in the cash segment. Domestic institutional investors, however, provided a significant counterweight, with DIIs logging a net buy of ₹12,292.81 crore (gross purchases of ₹24,867.72 crore against gross sales of ₹12,574.91 crore). Total F&O turnover across NSE and BSE stood at ₹35,18,678.40 crore for the session.

Ajit Mishra, SVP, Research, Religare Broking, noted that “a sharp bout of selling in the final hours dragged the index further down,” adding that “the Nifty has not only surrendered the support zone of 25,400 but has also moved closer to the gap area around the 25,100 mark.”

Sectorally, realty, auto, FMCG, metal, banking and telecom indices fell between 1 and 2 per cent. IT, media and consumer durables were the rare bright spots. Among Nifty losers, Adani Enterprises fell the most, dropping 2.68 per cent to ₹2,157, followed by Maruti Suzuki, which lost 2.50 per cent to ₹14,832. Bharti Airtel declined 2.47 per cent to ₹1,882, Grasim slipped 2.43 per cent to ₹2,794, and Sun Pharma dropped 2.40 per cent to ₹1,742.90.

On the gaining side, Trent led with a rise of 1.35 per cent to ₹3,908, followed by Infosys, which advanced 0.76 per cent to ₹1,298.90. HCL Technologies edged up 0.62 per cent to ₹1,382, Apollo Hospitals gained 0.55 per cent to ₹7,818, and Eternal rose 0.41 per cent to ₹247.50.

Sudeep Shah, Head of Technical and Derivatives Research at SBI Securities, noted that “out of the Nifty 500 universe, only around 110 stocks closed in the green, while nearly 387 ended in the red,” underscoring the breadth of the selloff.

The Indian rupee weakened marginally, closing at ₹90.97 per dollar against the previous close of ₹90.91.

Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Investments, attributed the week’s volatility to “changing global cues, renewed tariff uncertainty, and concerns over AI-driven disruption,” while flagging that “today’s better-than-expected India GDP print, signalling resilient underlying economic activity, offers a measure of domestic support even as global risks remain elevated.”

Looking ahead, the 25,000–25,030 zone will act as immediate support for the Nifty, with a break below 25,000 potentially accelerating losses towards 24,800. Mishra cautioned that “it will be important to see how the relatively stronger sectors, especially banking, behave in the coming sessions, as that could determine whether the market witnesses a rebound or extends the decline towards the 24,800 zone.” For Bank Nifty, the 60,200–60,000 band remains a critical support confluence, with resistance capped at 60,700–60,800. Participants are advised to keep position sizes light and manage risk carefully heading into next week.

Published on February 27, 2026

State Bank of India (SBI) has leased about 1.35 lakh sq ft of office space in Airoli to house its State Bank Global IT Centre, reinforcing the suburb’s growing role as a hub for global capability centres (GCCs).

The public sector lender has taken the space at Newa Bhakti Knowledge City, a commercial development owned by Newa Technocity (India) Private Limited. The fresh lease, which commenced on February 15, 2026, spans floors four to nine and covers a carpet area of 1,34,744 sq ft, according to property analytics firm Propstack.

SBI will be paying a monthly rent of about ₹125.05 for translating into a monthly outgo of approximately ₹1.68 crore. The rent includes fit-outs, indicating a plug-and-play setup aimed at speeding up occupancy and operational readiness. The lease tenure is five years, with a security deposit of ₹10.11 crore. The agreement provides for a 15 per cent escalation in rent after five years in case of renewal.

Raja Seetharaman, cofounder Propstack, shared that the lease of over 1.34 lakh sq. ft. at Newa Bhakti Knowledge City by State Bank of India (GITC) underscores the continued preference for Airoli as a primary hub for Global Capability Centers (GCCs) in the MMR. This long-term commitment, starting at a rent of approximately ₹125 per sq. ft. (inclusive of fit-outs), reflects the robust demand for high-quality IT infrastructure that can support large-scale digital banking operations. It is a clear indicator that institutional tenants are prioritising consolidated, ready-to-use spaces to drive their technological mandatesper sq ft.”

Airoli, located in the Navi Mumbai node of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), is a rapidly developing, high-demand real estate micro-market, primarily driven by its position as a major IT/ITES hub.

Wipro Limited has recently leased a large office space at Mindspace SEZ, Airoli East (MIDC Industrial Area). Airoli has witnessed steady commercial leasing activity in recent months, and with recent deals the area is becoming attractive amid evolving workplace strategies across the Mumbai Metropolitan Region.

Published on February 27, 2026