Yes, it is mandatory for every public company to be listed on a stock exchange. The public
company is required to send an application to at least one stock exchange to get
registered. Once it is listed, the company is allowed to offer its shares in order to become
public. However, initially the company may offer only a small percentage of its shares to the
public.
If a public company going for a public issue fails to apply to a stock exchange for
permission to deal in its securities or fails to get such permission before the expiry of ten
weeks from the date of closure of subscription list, the allotment of shares done by the
company shall become void and all money received from the applicants will have to be
returned to them within eight days.