How to apply, step by step

• A demat account — where allotted shares are held. Opening one is free at most brokers and usually completed the same day with Aadhaar and PAN.
• A trading account with the same broker — this is what places the bid.
• A UPI ID linked to the bank account you want the money blocked in. Not every UPI handle is permitted for IPO mandates; the NPCI publishes the list of eligible banks and apps.
• A PAN. One application per PAN per category, and your name on all three — PAN, demat and bank — has to match.

When you apply, the full amount is blocked in your bank account under ASBA — Applications Supported by Blocked Amount. The money does not leave. You cannot spend it, but it is still yours, and only the value of shares actually allotted is finally debited. Everything else is released when allotment is finalised.

Whether the blocked balance keeps earning interest depends on your account. A savings account normally keeps paying on it; a current account pays nothing either way; and banks differ on how a lien is treated. Ask yours rather than assuming.

1. 1

   Pick the issue and the number of lots

   Shares are applied for in whole lots. On the mainboard the minimum is one lot; on the SME board it is two, which is why SME applications usually cost more than ₹2 lakh and are therefore non-institutional bids rather than retail ones.

2. 2

   Tick cut-off price

   Unless you have a specific reason not to, retail applicants should bid at cut-off. It maximises the chance of being considered at whatever price is finally discovered.

3. 3

   Enter your UPI ID

   The one linked to the bank account that holds the money. Double-check the handle — a typo here fails silently.

4. 4

   Approve the mandate in your UPI app

   Usually within minutes, and always before the close. The amount appears as blocked in your account afterwards; confirm that it did.

5. 5

   Wait

   Allotment is finalised a day or two after the book closes. Check it on the registrar's site — every issue page here links to the right one.

• Two applications under the same PAN in the same category — both are rejected, not just the second.
• A name mismatch between PAN, demat and bank account.
• The UPI mandate never approved, or approved after the cut-off.
• Bidding below the final cut-off price in a book-built issue.
• Insufficient balance when the mandate is executed — blocking fails and the bid lapses.

You may hold one application in each reserved category you genuinely qualify for — an employee quota, or a shareholder quota where the issue has one. You may not hold two in retail. Applying from distinct family members' own PANs, demat accounts and bank accounts is the only legitimate way to hold more tickets in the lottery.