The NIFTY 50 is an Indian stock market index that represents the float-weighted average of 50 of the largest Indian companies listed on the National Stock Exchange (NSE).[1][2] Nifty 50 is owned and managed by NSE Indices, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of the NSE.[3][4] The Nifty 50 index was launched on 22 April 1996 with a base date of 3 November 1995 and with 1,000 as its base value.[1][5][6]
The NIFTY 50 index ecosystem consists of
The NIFTY 50 index covers 13 sectors of the Indian economy and offers investment managers exposure to the Indian market in one portfolio. As of November 2025, NIFTY 50 gives a weightage of 36.84% to financial services including banking, 10.39% to oil and gas, 10.23% to information technology, 6.81% to automotive, and 6.49% to consumer goods.[1]
The NIFTY 50 index is a free float market capitalisation-weighted index.
Stocks are added to the index based on the following criteria:[1]
The index was initially calculated on a full market capitalization methodology. On 26 June 2009, the computation was changed to a free-float methodology.[13] The base period for the NIFTY 50 index is 3 November 1995, which marked the completion of one year of operations of the equity market segment on NSE. The base value of the index has been set at 1,000 and a base capital of ₹2.06 trillion.[1][14]
The index is re-balanced on semi-annual basis. The cut-off date is 31 January and 31 July every year; further, average data for the previous six months from the cut-off date is considered to filter stocks. A notice of 4 weeks from the date of change is given to market participants so that they can prepare for any changes.[1]
The Nifty 50 has the following constituents, as of 8 December 2025.
Changes in index constituents since Nifty 50 since 2005:
Milestones
The following table lists some of the notable single-day falls of the NIFTY 50 index.
The following table lists some of the notable single-day gains of the NIFTY 50 index.
The following table shows the annual development of the NIFTY 50 since 2000.[80][81] The historical daily returns data can be accessed from the NSE website.[82]
Trading in futures and options on the NIFTY 50 is offered by the NSE and NSE International Exchange (NSEIX).[84][85] NSE offers weekly as well as monthly expiry options.[86]
NSE allows international traders to trade on the NIFTY 50 by GIFT NIFTY. The same index had previously operated under the name SGX Nifty, and was traded on the Singapore Exchange. It was rebranded to GIFT Nifty on 3 July 2023; trading was then moved to the NSE International Exchange (NSEIX), situated in GIFT City, Gandhinagar.[87][8][88] The CEO of NSEIX called it a watershed moment since it was the first time India got back an international contract which had previously been exported.[88][87]
NIFTY Next 50, also called NIFTY Junior, is an index of 50 companies whose free float market capitalisation comes after that of the companies in NIFTY 50. NIFTY Next 50 constituents are thus potential candidates for future inclusion in NIFTY 50.[89]
