History of NIFTY 50 in Timeline

By Popular Timelines Editorial Team · Updated: May 13, 2026

The NIFTY 50 is a major Indian stock market index comprising 50 of the largest publicly traded companies on the National Stock Exchange (NSE). It's a float-weighted index managed by NSE Indices, a subsidiary of the NSE. Launched on April 22, 1996, it uses a base date of November 3, 1995, and a base value of 1,000. The NIFTY 50 serves as a key indicator of the Indian stock market's performance and is widely used by investors to gauge market trends and overall economic sentiment.

November 1995: NIFTY 50 Base Date

In November 1995, the base date for the NIFTY 50 index was established with a base value of 1,000.

April 1996: NIFTY 50 Index Launch

In April 1996, the NIFTY 50 index, representing 50 of the largest Indian companies, was launched on the National Stock Exchange (NSE).

2000: Annual Development of the NIFTY 50

Since 2000, the NIFTY 50 has shown annual development, with historical daily returns data accessible on the NSE website.

2005: Changes in index constituents since Nifty 50

Since 2005 there have been changes in the index constituents of Nifty 50

June 2009: NIFTY 50 Computation Change

On June 26, 2009, the NIFTY 50 index computation methodology was changed to a free-float methodology.

2016: NIFTY 50 Most Actively Traded Index Options Contract

In 2016, the NIFTY 50 was recognized as the world's most actively traded index options contract by the WFE and FIA, before being overtaken by Nifty Bank.

July 2023: SGX Nifty Rebranded to GIFT Nifty

On July 3, 2023, SGX Nifty was rebranded to GIFT Nifty, and trading was moved to the NSE International Exchange (NSEIX) in GIFT City, Gandhinagar. This marked the return of an international contract to India.

2024: NIFTY 50 Overtakes Nifty Bank

In 2024, the NIFTY 50 surpassed Nifty Bank after the discontinuation of the latter's weekly expiry contracts.

November 2025: NIFTY 50 Sector Weightage

As of November 2025, the NIFTY 50 index allocated 36.84% of its weightage 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.