In diversification push, NCDEX eyes equity derivatives debut in 12 months, cash segment by year-end

In an emailed response to Mint's queries on the plans, NCDEX said it looks to first launch a mutual fund platform before rolling out its equity and derivatives businesses.

“Subject to regulatory approval, we plan to launch a mutual fund platform in June to expand the reach of the MF segment beyond the top 30 markets," said Arun Raste, managing director and chief executive officer at NCDEX in the email. "We have just finalized the systems, hardware, et al for the equity (cash) segment and, once we receive Sebi (Securities and Exchange Board of India) approval, we intend to launch it towards the year-end.”

“While it is early days to talk about equity derivatives, post the above two launches, and subject to regulatory approvals, we intend to enter the derivatives segment with weekly and monthly options contracts,” the email said.

The exchange has already secured regulatory clearances for its diversification plans. It recently received an in-principle approval from the markets regulator to launch a mutual fund platform. The business is expected to act as a precursor to its equity market expansion as the exchange builds distribution and transaction infrastructure outside commodities. Earlier, in July 2025, it got an in-principle nod from Sebi for the launch of equity and equity derivatives segments, an exchange filing had said. The NCDEX board had approved the equity market foray in February last year.

“They will enter the UAT (user acceptance testing) phase for equities (cash) by September. NCDEX is also awaiting Sebi’s final nod, which is expected to come this year,” said the official mentioned above.

To finance the new platforms and related services, NCDEX raised ₹770 crore through a preferential allotment of shares to 61 investors in September 2025. Investors included Kotak Life Insurance, JM Financial, high net worth individuals such as Madhu Kela and Ramesh Damani, stockbrokers including Share India and Globe, and foreign high-frequency traders such as Optiver and Citadel Securities, according to a company press release.

The exchange may have to wisely choose its expiry day, which is now restricted to two days a week. Sebi had restricted expiries of all equity derivatives contracts of an exchange to Tuesday or Thursday in a bid to curb excessive speculation on expiry days. Currently, NSE’s derivatives contracts expire on Tuesdays, while BSE’s expire on Thursdays. Any new entrant would effectively be forced to take on one of the two established exchanges head-on to win market share.

NSE had a total premium turnover of ₹142.42 trillion in FY26, while BSE was at ₹48.22 trillion in the same period, according to Sebi data. Currently, NCDEX dominates the agri-commodities trading, with a futures turnover of ₹1.4 trillion in FY26 and total options premium turnover of ₹209 crore.

“For launching any derivative, they need an underlying. They will have to launch equity, and build it first to launch derivatives. There are a few opportunities right now such as NSE listing that they may be seeing,” said Narinder Wadhwa, managing director at SKI Capital Services.

“They can choose either Tuesday or Thursday (for expiry). Product differentiation can help them to attract eyeballs depending on what their cash segment looks like," Wadhwa added. "NCDEX can create different indices and then launch derivatives on those indices.”

MSEI in the fray too

NCDEX’s diversification plan comes as the Metropolitan Stock Exchange of India (MSEI), earlier known as MCX-SX, attempts to strengthen its equity market presence. It recently announced the appointment of market makers for its equity segment, and had said it would introduce liquidity enhancement measures from April 2026 to deepen market participation.

In May 2025, Mint reported that Sebi rules governing weekly expiries have derailed MSEI’s plans to launch equity derivatives, as it would have to compete with NSE and BSE on expiry day for market share. The exchange had raised ₹238 crore from broking firm Groww’s parent Billionbrains Garage Ventures, Zerodha's Rainmatter Investments, Share India Securities, and Securocorp Securities India in December 2024.

Apoorva Ajith

Apoorva is a Mumbai-based journalist at Mint who covers the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), tracking the pulse of India’s capital markets, regulatory developments and the people who operate within them. She holds a postgraduate diploma in business and financial journalism from the Asian College of Journalism, where she developed a strong foundation in markets, companies, and economic policy. She began her journalism journey with an internship at Bloomberg, where she worked across beats such as real estate, infrastructure, capital markets, and deals, which helped her understanding of business and finance.She is guided by the belief that everything in this world can be explained in simple and fewer words, and that idea shapes how she approaches her writing. She aims to cut through complexity and present nuanced regulatory and financial developments in a way that is both accessible and meaningful to readers.When she is not tracking market chatter, Apoorva can usually be found deep into a fiction novel or out on a long run. She is also a trained classical dancer in Bharatanatyam, Mohiniyattam, and Kathakali.