Sources and Staying Current
Lot sizes, expiry dates, margins, charges and SEBI figures all change. This reference shows where to verify every live fact this course uses, and the simple 'as of date' habit that keeps your own numbers from going stale.
- ·Where to check NSE lot sizes and specs
- ·Expiry calendar sources
- ·The SEBI F&O studies
- ·Margin and settlement rules
- ·The 'as of date' habit
- ·A fact-to-source table
Meera found a tidy free PDF from a couple of years ago and trusted it like gospel. It said a NIFTY lot was 50 units, so that is the number she used to size her very first options trade. The trouble was simple: the exchange had revised the lot since that PDF was written. Her real position was a different size, her risk was bigger than she thought, and the margin her broker blocked did not match her neat little spreadsheet. Nothing about her plan was stupid. She had just acted on a number that had quietly gone out of date while she was not looking. That single habit - copying a figure and never checking when it was true - is what this final chapter exists to fix.
Both this course and its companion Risk Management course are full of numbers. Lot sizes. Expiry dates. Margins. Charges. Hedging costs. SEBI study figures. Every one of those is a fact that changes. The exchanges revise contract sizes. SEBI updates margin and settlement rules. Tax and stamp figures get tweaked in budgets and circulars. A statistic from a 2024 study describes 2024, not next year. So the most useful thing a beginner course can teach is not a number at all. It is a habit: always know where a number comes from, and always know the date it was true.
Why stale numbers and second-hand stats are dangerous
A wrong number does not feel wrong. It sits in your spreadsheet looking calm and confident, and it quietly poisons every calculation built on top of it. Use an old lot size and your position sizing is off. Use an old margin rule and your account is short when you least expect it. Quote a years-old statistic as if it is today's truth and you mislead yourself about the odds you actually face.
Second-hand stats are their own trap. A figure travels from an official study, to a news headline, to a forum post, to a reel, and by the time it reaches you it has often lost its date, its source, and half its meaning. The honest fix is the same in every case: go back to the original source, read the number there, and write down the date you read it.
The fact-to-source table
This is the heart of the chapter. Keep it somewhere you can find it. When any changing fact matters for a trade, do not trust this course, a blog, or a chat group. Go to the row's source and read the current value yourself.
| Fact | Where to verify | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Lot sizes and contract specs (NIFTY, BANKNIFTY, stock F&O) | NSE equity-derivatives contract information pages on nseindia.com | Exchanges revise lots periodically. Always confirm the current cycle before sizing a position. |
| Expiry calendar and trading holidays | NSE and the relevant exchange website | Weekly and monthly expiry days and holiday lists change year to year. Check the official calendar, not memory. |
| SEBI F&O loss studies (for example the September 2024 study) | sebi.gov.in studies and press releases | A study describes its own period. The September 2024 study found about 91% of individual F&O traders lost money in FY2024 - that is FY2024, not a permanent law. |
| Margin, peak-margin, settlement (T+1) and pledge rules | SEBI and NSE circulars, plus your own broker | Rules and the exact margin blocked differ over time and by broker. Confirm what your account actually requires. |
| Charges: STT, exchange fees, GST, stamp duty | Exchange schedules and your own broker contract notes | Your contract note is the final word on what you paid. Rebuild your cost number from it, not from an old blog. |
| Option premiums and hedge costs | Your broker terminal and contract notes, against current market data | Premiums move with the market every session. A hedge that was cheap last month may not be today. |
Every changing number you trade on - lot size, expiry, margin, charge, hedge cost, or SEBI figure - must be re-checked at its official source on the day you use it. A number is only as good as the date attached to it. No date, no trust.
The "as of " habit
Here is the whole discipline in one move. Whenever you write down a changing number, write the date beside it. "NIFTY lot 65 (as of June 2026)." "About 91% of individual F&O traders lost money (SEBI study, FY2024)." The date is not decoration. It is the expiry stamp on the fact. When you come back next month, the stamp tells you at a glance whether the number is fresh or needs a re-check.
Let me be honest about this course's own numbers, because the same rule binds me. Where these courses say a NIFTY lot is around 65, that is true as of roughly April to June 2026 and is the kind of figure the exchange revises. Where they cite that about 91% of individual F&O traders lost money, that is the SEBI September 2024 study describing FY2024. Both are point-in-time facts. Treat them as starting points to verify, never as fixed constants. If you are reading this a year from now, assume at least one of them has moved and check.
The classic beginner error is treating a course's old lot size, or a years-old loss statistic, as if it were permanent. "NIFTY lot is 65, the course said so" or "91% of F&O traders lose, that is just a fact" - both are point-in-time, and both will drift. The better move is to use the course number to understand the idea, then open the official source and confirm the current figure before any real money is sized on it.
How often each user type re-checks
The habit is the same for everyone. Only the frequency changes.
| User type | Numbers that matter most | How often to re-verify |
|---|---|---|
| Long-term investor | Tax rules, charges, settlement cycle | A quick check each year and around budget changes |
| Swing or positional trader | Lot sizes, expiry calendar, charges | Each new contract cycle and before a holiday-shortened week |
| Intraday or F&O trader | Lot sizes, margins, expiry days, charges | Before every fresh series, and any time a circular lands |
| Option seller or hedger | Margins, pledge rules, hedge and premium costs | Before each position, since margins and costs move constantly |
A quiet word on the human side
One changing fact is not on any exchange page. It is you. If trading has started to feel like chasing losses, hiding positions from family, or borrowing to stay in the game, that is worth taking as seriously as any margin rule. Problem-gambling helplines and professional counselling services exist, and reaching out to one is a sign of strength, not failure. This course does not endorse any single service - the point is only that help is real, it is available, and using it is always a valid move.
When this fails
Even good sources have limits, so stay sceptical in the right way.
Sources lag. A circular can be effective from a date before the website page, app, or PDF you are reading catches up. Around budget announcements and rule changes, expect a gap between the decision and the tidy summary. When in doubt, read the original circular, not the recap.
Brokers differ. Two accounts can show different blocked margins for the same position because of broker policies and buffers on top of the exchange minimum. The exchange and SEBI set the floor; your own broker sets what you actually pay and post. So the final, binding number for your money is the one in your account and on your contract note, not a general figure from any course - including this one.
And no table is complete forever. New products, new rules, and new studies appear. Treat this page as a way to think, not a fixed list of links. The skill that lasts is the habit: find the source, read the current number, stamp it with a date, and re-check before you trade.
This chapter is for education only and is not investment advice. Every figure mentioned here is a point-in-time example to be verified at its source, not a recommendation for your own money.
Quick self-check
1. Why is a number without a date dangerous?
Because changing facts like lot sizes, margins, charges, and study statistics all drift over time. Without a date you cannot tell whether the number is current or expired, so every calculation built on it may be quietly wrong.
2. Where would you verify the current NIFTY lot size and contract specs?
On the NSE equity-derivatives contract information pages at nseindia.com, read on the day you plan to size the position. Not from an old PDF, blog, or chat group.
3. The course says about 91% of individual F&O traders lost money. How should you treat that figure?
As a point-in-time fact from the SEBI September 2024 study describing FY2024, traceable at sebi.gov.in. It is a real finding for that period, not a permanent law, so check the latest study before quoting it as today's truth.
4. Two traders hold the same position but see different margins blocked. Why, and which number is binding?
Brokers add their own policies and buffers on top of the exchange minimum, so the blocked amount can differ. The binding number for your money is the one your own broker shows and what appears on your contract note.
5. What is the "as of date" habit in one line?
Whenever you write down a changing number, write the date beside it, then re-verify at the official source before you trade on it. The date is the expiry stamp that tells you when to re-check.