See the IPO.
Understand the opportunity.

Grey Market Premium, or GMP, is the price at which IPO shares are unofficially bought and sold before they are listed on the exchange, over and above the issue price. It is widely tracked as an informal, sentiment-based indicator of how strong the demand for an IPO might be. GMP is not an official or regulated number — it can and does change through the day, and it is not a guarantee of what the stock will actually do on listing day.

Investors apply for IPOs to potentially get an allotment at the issue price and benefit if the stock lists or trades above that price, to invest in a company early in its journey as a listed business, and to diversify a portfolio across new sectors and businesses. Some investors also apply for listing gains over a short holding period, while others apply with a longer-term view on the company's fundamentals.

IPOs carry real risk. A stock can list below its issue price, subscription numbers and GMP can create hype that doesn't hold up after listing, and newly listed companies often have limited trading history and can be more volatile than established stocks. Allotment is not guaranteed even if you apply, and the amount you invest is locked in until shares are allotted or refunded. It's important to read the company's prospectus (RHP) and understand its business and financials, rather than relying on GMP or subscription numbers alone.

IPO subscription shows how many times an issue has been bid for, relative to the number of shares actually on offer, broken down by investor category — Qualified Institutional Buyers (QIB), Non-Institutional Investors (NII), Retail Individual Investors, and sometimes Employees. A subscription of '10x' in a category means that category received bids for ten times the shares reserved for it. Tracking subscription live helps investors gauge overall demand and institutional confidence, though heavy subscription alone doesn't guarantee an allotment or a strong listing.

When an IPO is oversubscribed, shares are distributed through a defined allotment process rather than on a first-come-first-served basis. Retail applications are typically allotted in lots through a computerised random selection (lottery) process when demand exceeds supply, while QIB and NII categories are allotted proportionately within their reserved portions. The allotment is finalised with the registrar and stock exchanges on the allotment date listed in the IPO calendar, after which shares are credited to demat accounts or the application amount is refunded.