National Stock Exchange of India (NSE): Full Form, Location, History and How It Works

In the share market, NSE stands for the National Stock Exchange of India Limited. It is India's largest stock exchange by trading volume, and one of the two main exchanges along with BSE.

NSE's headquarters is at Exchange Plaza, C-1, Block G, Bandra Kurla Complex, Bandra (East), Mumbai – 400 051, Maharashtra.

Because trading is fully electronic, the "location" is mostly an office. Brokers and investors across India trade on NSE online without going there. NSE also runs an international exchange, NSE IX, at GIFT City in Gujarat.

• 1992: set up by leading Indian financial institutions to bring transparency to the stock market.
• 1994: began trading. Debt trading started in June and equities in November, on India's first fully screen-based trading system.
• 1996: launched the Nifty 50, now India's most followed stock index.
• 2000: introduced index futures, starting India's equity derivatives market.

• Trading hours: 9:15 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Monday to Friday, after a pre-open session from 9:00 a.m.
• Settlement: T+1. Shares bought today reach your demat account the next working day.
• Regulator: SEBI (Securities and Exchange Board of India).
• What trades there: shares, ETFs, bonds, mutual fund units, and futures and options on indices and stocks.

You can't buy directly from NSE. You need a demat account and a trading account with a SEBI-registered broker, linked to your PAN and bank account.

• Equity shares of over two thousand companies, from the Nifty 50 giants to small and mid-sized firms on the main board and the SME platform (NSE Emerge).
• ETFs and index funds that track Nifty, gold, silver and bonds, bought like shares.
• Government securities and corporate bonds, which retail investors can buy through their broker.
• Derivatives: futures and options on Nifty, Bank Nifty and individual stocks. These are high-risk and best avoided until you understand them.
• Sovereign Gold Bonds issued earlier, which trade on the exchange.

Companies raise money through IPOs on NSE. Investors apply through their broker's app with UPI, and the shares are listed on NSE (and usually BSE) a few days later.

Gains from shares and equity funds bought on NSE are taxed as capital gains: short-term at 20% if held up to 12 months, long-term at 12.5% above ₹1.25 lakh a year if held longer. Futures and options profits are business income. Report them correctly in your return. Our ITR documents checklist shows which statements to download from your broker.