'NSE has delivered what markets expected': Sriram Krishnan on NSE’s Tuesday derivative expiry, weekly rollouts from Sept

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has officially approved the National Stock Exchange’s (NSE) proposal to shift its weekly index derivative contract expiries to Tuesdays, a move that will take effect starting September 1, 2025. The approval marks a significant structural change in India’s derivatives market and is expected to streamline trading activity, reduce overlap, and enhance participation from institutional and retail investors.

Sriram Krishnan, Chief Business Development Officer at NSE, called it a "market-driven" decision. “This was not an ask from NSE alone—it came directly from the market participants,” he told BT TV on Tuesday. The shift follows extensive consultations with traders, members, and global partners after SEBI’s March 27 consultation paper, which proposed limiting index expiries to two days a week: Tuesday or Thursday.

In a circular, the NSE announced that SEBI has approved its proposal to shift the expiry day of derivatives contracts to Tuesday. The exchange clarified that the expiry day for existing contracts will remain unchanged, except for long-dated index options, which will be realigned accordingly.

NSE said it will retain Thursday as the expiry day for all derivative contracts expiring on or before August 31, 2025. However, for contracts expiring on or after September 1, 2025, the expiry will shift to Tuesday. Monthly contracts, specifically, will expire on the last Tuesday of the month starting September.

The Bombay Stock Exchange will continue with its weekly expiries on Thursdays, as per SEBI’s new guidelines.

Krishnan noted that the change will offer traders a three-day window—Friday, Monday, and Tuesday—where no other exchange expiries interfere. This is likely to create smoother price movements and better trading opportunities. "NSE premiums tend to fall close to expiry. With Tuesday now as the fixed expiry day, we expect increased market activity during this lead-up period,” he explained.

The shift is also a response to SEBI’s concerns about excessive retail speculation triggered by daily expiries across multiple exchanges and indices. NSE had previously supported the idea of a single expiry day to curb volatility and protect small investors, but accepted the regulator’s final decision to allow two expiry days a week.

With NSE already commanding 70–80% market share in index derivatives even on non-expiry days, Krishnan expects this move to further strengthen its position. “We don’t focus on market share as a metric, but yes, more activity on NSE contracts is inevitable with this clarity,” he said.

When asked about the long-awaited NSE IPO, Krishnan refrained from offering a timeline, saying only that the listing would proceed once all regulatory approvals are in place.

The Tuesday expiry implementation is seen as a progressive market reform, welcomed by traders and brokers alike. It is expected to bring clarity, reduce speculative excess, and offer a more balanced derivative trading environment as India’s capital markets continue to mature.