Mumbai, April 17 -- India's largest stock exchange has long been waiting to go public. But as the National Stock Exchange (NSE) renews its bid for an initial public offering (IPO), the country's capital markets regulator is making its priorities clear: investor protection comes first.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) is currently reviewing NSE's application to proceed with its IPO, Sebi chairperson Tuhin Kanta Pandey said Thursday on the sidelines of the Confederation of Indian Industry's (CII) Corporate Governance Summit in Mumbai.

"We will not allow commercial interests to override public interest," Pandey said. "It is the regulator's responsibility to ensure that."

A Sebi letter to NSE echoed the sentiment: "The cul...