What Is the Nifty 50? How India's Benchmark Index Works
Index Tracker team · 4 November 2026 · 6 min read
When people say "the market is up today" in India, they usually mean the Nifty 50. It's the index most investors, traders and fund managers use as a quick reading of how large Indian companies are doing.
What the Nifty 50 is
The Nifty 50 is an index of 50 large, frequently traded companies listed on the National Stock Exchange (NSE). It's run by NSE Indices Ltd and started from a base value of 1,000 on 3 November 1995. So a Nifty level of 25,000 means the basket is worth roughly 25 times what it was then.
How it's calculated
The index is weighted by free-float market capitalisation. In practice that means:
- Bigger companies move the index more than smaller ones.
- Only shares that are freely available to trade count. Promoter and government holdings are left out.
- A 1% move in one of the heaviest stocks can shift the whole index far more than a 5% move in one of the lightest.
Banks, IT services, oil and gas, and consumer companies tend to carry most of the weight, so news in those sectors often drives the day.
How companies get in and out
NSE reviews the list twice a year. Companies have to be among the largest and most liquid on the exchange to stay in. When a company drops out, the next-largest eligible company usually replaces it. Many of these candidates come from the Nifty Next 50.
Why it matters even if you don't trade
- Most index funds and ETFs in India track it, so it affects many people's savings.
- Mutual funds often compare their returns against it.
- Derivatives on it (futures and options) are among the most traded in the world.
How to follow it
Open the Nifty 50 page in the tracker for the live level, today's change, the intraday chart, the 52-week range and returns from one week to five years. During market hours, prices refresh every few seconds.
For education only. This isn't investment advice. Prices can be delayed.