F&O Lot Size in India: Meaning, Calculation, and How It Differs for Stocks and Indices
Blog by Aliceblue News Desk
20 April 2026
9 minutes
You spot a Nifty call option priced at ₹120 and think it is affordable. You buy one contract. The system debits ₹7,800 from your account, not ₹120. That gap exists because of one number you skipped: the lot size.
In India’s futures and options market, every contract carries a fixed number of units called the lot size. You pay a premium, book a profit, and absorb a loss based on that number. Two traders buying “one contract” each on different indices can have wildly different exposure because their lot sizes differ. Before any F&O trade, this is the number you must know. This article explains what lot size means, how it is calculated, why it varies across stocks and indices, and how corporate actions change it.
What Is Lot Size in F&O?
Lot size is the fixed number of units of a stock or index that make up one F&O contract on Indian exchanges.
In the equity cash market, you can buy any number of shares you want. F&O does not allow that. The exchange decides the quantity per contract, and you trade in whole multiples of that number only. One lot, two lots, five lots. Never a fraction.
If a stock has a lot size of 700, one contract equals 700 shares. Your premium outflow, profit, and loss are all multiplied by 700. This is why comparing two options purely on premium price is misleading. The lot size behind each contract changes everything.
How SEBI's Minimum Contract Value Has Evolved
Lot sizes exist because SEBI mandates that every F&O contract must represent a minimum notional value. As market prices rise over time, the lot size is revised downward to keep the contract value within the target range.
Period | Minimum Contract Value | Applied To |
2001 (F&O launch in India) | ₹2 lakh | All contracts |
2010s | ₹5 lakh | All contracts |
Pre-November 2024 | ₹5 to ₹10 lakh | All contracts |
November 20, 2024 onwards | ₹15 to ₹20 lakh | Index contracts only |
On October 1, 2024, SEBI issued a circular specifically for index derivatives. The minimum contract value for index F&O was raised from the ₹5 to ₹10 lakh range to the ₹15 to ₹20 lakh. This applied only to index contracts, Nifty 50, Bank Nifty, FinNifty, Midcap Select, and BSE equivalents.
Stock F&O contracts follow a separate review cycle and continue to be calibrated to the ₹5 to ₹10 lakh target range.
To meet the new index rules, NSE increased the Nifty 50 lot size from 25 to 75 and Bank Nifty from 15 to 30, effective November 20, 2024. As index levels rose further, NSE revised the sizes downward again in January 2026.
How Lot Size Is Calculated
The formula works backwards from a target contract value.
Lot Size = Target Contract Value divided by Current Market Price of the Underlying
Index example:
Target value: ₹1,500,000. Nifty 50 at approximately ₹23,000.
₹1,500,000 divided by ₹23,000 = approximately 65 units.
This is exactly the current Nifty 50 lot size.
Stock example:
Target value: ₹700,000. Coal India at approximately ₹380.
₹700,000 divided by ₹380 = approximately 1,842 units, rounded to 1,350 after NSE uses a one-month average closing price in its calculation rather than a single day’s price.
This averaging is why the formula gives an approximation, and the exchange’s final number may differ slightly from the rough calculation.
Current Lot Sizes (Verified, April 2026)
Index Contracts
All figures verified from Dhan’s official NSE F&O lot size list and Sahi’s January 2026 revision article.
Index | Symbol | Lot Size | Revised From |
Nifty 50 | NIFTY | 65 | 75 (Nov 2024) |
Bank Nifty | BANKNIFTY | 30 | 35 (Nov 2024) |
Nifty Financial Services | FINNIFTY | 60 | 65 |
Nifty Midcap Select | MIDCPNIFTY | 120 | 140 |
Nifty Next 50 | NIFTYNXT50 | 25 | No change |
BSE Sensex | SENSEX | 20 | 10 (revised in 2025) |
Stock F&O Lot Sizes
All figures are taken directly from Dhan’s live lot size table, last updated April 2026.
Stock | Symbol | Lot Size |
Page Industries | PAGEIND | 15 |
Force Motors | FORCEMOT | 25 |
Maruti Suzuki | MARUTI | 50 |
Bajaj Auto | BAJAJ-AUTO | 75 |
Infosys | INFY | 400 |
Reliance Industries | RELIANCE | 500 |
TCS | TCS | 175 |
HDFC Bank | HDFCBANK | 550 |
ICICI Bank | ICICIBANK | 700 |
State Bank of India | SBIN | 750 |
Bajaj Finance | BAJFINANCE | 750 |
DLF | DLF | 825 |
Coal India | COALINDIA | 1,350 |
Tata Steel | TATASTEEL | 5,500 |
IDFC First Bank | IDFCFIRSTB | 9,275 |
Suzlon Energy | SUZLON | 9,025 |
Yes Bank | YESBANK | 31,100 |
Vodafone Idea | IDEA | 71,475 |
Always verify lot sizes on nseindia.com or your broker’s platform before trading. These numbers are revised periodically.
A Real Example With Numbers
You buy one lot of a Bank Nifty call option.
Bank Nifty level: ₹52,000. Lot size: 30. Premium paid: ₹250.
Total premium outflow = ₹250 multiplied by 30 = ₹7,500.
Bank Nifty rises 500 points. The premium moves from ₹250 to ₹430.
Profit = ₹180 multiplied by 30 = ₹5,400.
Now consider someone who bought one Nifty 50 call option on the same day.
Nifty level: ₹23,500. Lot size: 65. Premium paid: ₹150. Premium at exit: ₹230.
Profit = ₹80 multiplied by 65 = ₹5,200.
Same number of contracts. Similar market move. Different actual profit. The lot size and index level behind each contract determine the real money outcome on every trade.
How Corporate Actions Change Your Lot Size
When a company announces a stock split or bonus issue, NSE automatically adjusts the lot size of that stock’s F&O contracts on the ex-date. The exchange does this so that the total contract value stays the same before and after the corporate action. You do not need to modify your open positions manually.
Stock Split Example (2:1)
Before Split | After Split | |
Share price | ₹500 | ₹250 |
Lot size | 300 | 600 |
Contract value | ₹150,000 | ₹150,000 |
Bonus Issue Example (1:1)
Before Bonus | After Bonus | |
Share price | ₹200 | ₹100 |
Lot size | 500 | 1,000 |
Strike price | ₹200 | ₹100 |
Contract value | ₹100,000 | ₹100,000 |
All open option contracts have their strike prices adjusted proportionally on the same ex-date.
If you hold a multi-leg options position in a stock that announces a split or bonus, check your position the morning of the ex-date. The lot size will have changed, and your margin requirement and position Greeks will need recalculation.
For dividends, NSE only adjusts F&O contracts when the dividend amount exceeds 5% of the stock’s closing price on the day before the ex-dividend date. Ordinary dividends do not trigger F&O contract adjustments.
What Is the Quantity Freeze Limit?
Every F&O contract has a maximum number of lots you can place in a single order. This is the Quantity Freeze Limit. Orders above this limit are rejected by the exchange automatically, regardless of available capital. Retail traders rarely hit this ceiling, but traders scaling up to larger positions should be aware of it. The quantity freeze limit for each contract is published on nseindia.com under contract specifications.
How to Check the Current Lot Size
There are three ways to find the current lot size for any F&O contract.
First, visit nseindia.com and go to Products, then Equity Derivatives, then Contract Specifications. Every F&O stock and index has its lot size listed here.
Second, check your broker’s trading platform. The lot size appears on the options chain screen and on the order placement form.
Third, follow NSE circulars. NSE publishes a bulletin before every lot size revision. Most brokers send a notification on the same day. This is the most reliable way to stay updated before a revision takes effect.
Factor | Stock F&O | Index F&O |
Target contract value | ₹5 to ₹10 lakh | ₹15 to ₹20 lakh (post November 2024) |
Settlement at expiry | Physical delivery of shares | Cash settlement |
Affected by corporate actions | Yes | No |
Lot size range | 15 (Page Industries) to 71,475 (Vodafone Idea) | 20 (Sensex) to 120 (Midcap Select) |
Suitable for hedging | Specific stock positions | Broad equity portfolio |
Factor | Stock F&O | Index F&O |
Target contract value | ₹5 to ₹10 lakh | ₹15 to ₹20 lakh (post November 2024) |
Settlement at expiry | Physical delivery of shares | Cash settlement |
Affected by corporate actions | Yes | No |
Lot size range | 15 (Page Industries) to 71,475 (Vodafone Idea) | 20 (Sensex) to 120 (Midcap Select) |
Suitable for hedging | Specific stock positions | Broad equity portfolio |
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Treating the premium as the total cost. A ₹100 Nifty option at a lot size of 65 costs ₹6,500 in premium, not ₹100. Calculate the total outflow before placing the trade.
- Not checking for lot size revisions when rolling positions. The lot size for January 2026 Nifty contracts was different from that of December 2025 contracts. Strategies rolled without checking this created mismatched leg sizes.
- Ignoring corporate action announcements in stock F&O. A 1:1 bonus doubles the lot size and halves the strike price on ex-date. Margin requirements change accordingly.
- Comparing options across stocks without accounting for lot size. A ₹50 premium at a lot size of 3,000 costs ₹150,000 in premium. A ₹200 premium at a lot size of 250 costs ₹50,000. The premium alone tells you nothing without knowing the lot size behind it.
Lot size is the multiplier behind every F&O calculation. It determines your premium outflow, your margin requirement, your per-point profit or loss, and your total risk. The SEBI revision of October 2024 raised index contract values to ₹15 to ₹20 lakh, making index futures a higher capital activity than before. Stock contracts continue under the ₹5 to ₹10 lakh framework with separate review cycles. Corporate actions on individual stocks can change lot sizes without any action needed from traders, but those changes affect margin and position structure immediately.
Check the current lot size on NSE India before every trade. It takes thirty seconds and prevents every surprise that follows from skipping it.
Frequently Asked Questions
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