India's stock markets are set for a wave of unicorn listings, according to technology venture capitalist and former Infosys chief financial officer Mohandas Pai.

A unicorn refers to any tech start-up that reaches US$1 billion (S$1.36 billion) in market value.

Mr Pai, who is chairman of Securities and Exchange Board of India's committees on primary markets and financial technology, said 10 to 15 Internet and tech firms are looking to list in India over the next three years. These firms are likely to be valued at US$300 million to US$10 billion, he said in an interview.

One of the firms is Byju, creator of an education app in which Mr Pai's Aarin Capital Partners owns a stake. The others he expects to list include food delivery platforms Swiggy and Zomato, as well as PhonePe and Myntra, both units of Walmart-controlled Flipkart.

"There is appetite for IPOs (initial public offerings)" from companies as well as investors, he added. "The market is hungry for fast-growth IT stocks." The swelling valuations of India's home-grown tech firms have been making headlines over the past couple of years.

Mr Pai pointed to interest from both global and local investors that drove the nation's equity indexes to record highs last month. The strong performance of Internet-related stocks, including Indian Railway Catering & Tourism Corp and Info Edge India, this year has also helped, he said. The former has gained about 170 per cent since its listing in October.

Foreign investors have pumped about US$13 billion into Indian stocks this year, setting the stage for the biggest annual inflow since Prime Minister Narendra Modi was elected in 2014, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

BLOOMBERG