TL;DR: India has rich, compliant data pipes for algos: free end-of-day (EOD) and reports from NSE/BSE, macro and MF flows from RBI/AMFI/NSDL, broker APIs for live + order routing, and exchange-authorised vendors for low-latency real-time. Pick sources by need (EOD backtests vs. intraday vs. tick), budget, and licensing. (NSE India, BSE India, Avantis CDN Production Storage, AMFI India, NSDL FPI)
Why this matters
Your strategy is only as good as its data. For Indian algo trading, the right mix of official exchange data, broker APIs, and authorised vendors can improve fills, reduce slippage, and keep you compliant with SEBI’s 2025 framework for retail algos. (Securities and Exchange Board of India)
The quick map (use-case → sources)
- EOD backtesting (cash & F&O): NSE/BSE bhavcopies and historical reports (free/low cost). (NSE India, BSE India)
- Intraday/minute bars: Broker APIs (historical & live) or authorised vendors’ REST/WebSocket feeds. (Kite, Zerodha, Global Datafeeds)
- Low-latency/tick or order book (L1/L2/TBT): Exchange real-time products or authorised vendors (compliant redistribution). (NSE India, NSE India Search Archives)
- Volatility & indices: India VIX, index historicals from NSE. (NSE India)
- Flows & macro: FPI flows (NSDL/CDSL), AMFI NAV/AUM, RBI DBIE for macro time-series. (NSDL FPI, CDSL India, AMFI India, Avantis CDN Production Storage)
- Fundamentals/corporate actions: NSE/BSE filings; Capitaline/ACE/CMIE for depth. (NSE India, BSE India, capitaline.com, aceequitynxt.com, prowess.cmie.com)
Free & Official Sources (best for backtests, signals, compliance)
1) NSE India
- EOD / historical: Security-wise price-volume, deliverables, full bhavcopy; historical index & VIX. CSV downloads. (NSE India)
- FII/DII activity (daily provisional & combined): helpful for regime filters. (NSE India)
- Corporate filings/actions: announcements, results, splits/bonuses, board meets. (NSE India)
2) BSE India
- Bhavcopy (EOD) and debt/derivatives series; note format updates and discontinuations. (BSE India)
3) NSDL / CDSL (FPI flows)
- Daily & periodic FPI data—useful for foreign flow regimes. (NSDL FPI)
4) AMFI
- NAV downloads (daily text files) and AUM/monthly dashboards—good for MF flow & liquidity overlays. (AMFI India)
5) RBI – DBIE (macro)
- RBI’s Database on Indian Economy hosts time-series (rates, CPI/WPI, liquidity, FX). Portal moved to data.rbi.org.in. (Avantis CDN Production Storage)
✅ Tip (visual): For a regime panel, layer:
- MF net flows (AMFI) → sentiment
- FPI daily (NSDL) → foreign risk appetite
- VIX 30-day avg (NSE) → risk bucket
- RBI policy dates → event flags (AMFI India, NSDL FPI, NSE India)
Broker APIs (live + historical + orders)
Most modern brokers expose REST/WebSocket APIs for order routing, portfolio status, and market data (with varying entitlements).
- Zerodha Kite Connect – data APIs revised to ₹500/month; order & account APIs free since Mar 2025. (Kite, Zerodha)
- Upstox Developer API – active push on API trading; pricing updates & community notes (incl. ₹10/order via API promo till Dec-2025). (Upstox – Online Stock and Share Trading, Upstox Community)
- DhanHQ – positions itself as free trading APIs with low-latency infra. (dhanhq.co)
- Angel One SmartAPI – widely used; free access & added historical coverage. (Angel One, SmartAPI)
- Others: Fyers, Alice Blue, etc., offer historical/minute endpoints (check symbol limits/lookbacks). (Alice Blue API)
⚠️ License note: Broker market data via API is typically for your use only and not redistributable; check exchange/vendor terms and the broker’s data agreement.
Exchange-Authorised Real-Time Vendors (for production-grade feeds)
When you need stable, compliant real-time L1/L2 or low-latency ingestion for intraday/tick models, use authorised distributors:
- Global Datafeeds (GDFL) – authorised distributor; APIs for real-time, historical, snapshots, option chain/greeks. (Global Datafeeds)
- TrueData – authorised L1 vendor for NSE/BSE/MCX with WebSocket APIs. (TrueData)
- Large terminals (Bloomberg/Refinitiv/LSEG) also provide NSE data via licensed feeds. (NSE India Search Archives, LSEG)
NSE defines feed levels (L1 best bid/ask; L2 depth to 5; L3 depth to 20; TBT full order book). For most retail algos, L1/L2 suffice; TBT requires stronger infra/licensing. (NSE India)
Pricing, rights & compliance (read this!)
- NSE Data Usage & Sharing Policy sets who may consume, display, or redistribute market data; non-display/re-use often needs separate licensing. (NSE India Search Archives)
- Authorised vendor lists are public—validate before signing. (NSE India Search Archives)
- BSE information products tariff outlines commercial terms for EOD/real-time and reference data. (BSE India)
- Retail algo rules (2025) add tagging/registration and broker responsibilities—coordinate with your broker/algo provider. (Securities and Exchange Board of India)
Community & helper tools (use carefully)
- GetBhavCopy (EOD downloader) and nser (R package) can automate official downloads; always validate output against exchange files. (getbhavcopy.com, rdrr.io)
Which stack should you choose?
A) Backtests on EOD bars (equities/F&O)
- Download NSE/BSE bhavcopies + deliverables;
- Add corporate actions from filings;
- Add India VIX & index history for regimes. (NSE India, BSE India)
B) Intraday/minute models (positional to day-trade)
- Broker API for minute bars + orders;
- If you scale or co-trade many symbols, upgrade to an authorised vendor feed;
- Log entitlements, symbol maps, and holidays.
C) Low-latency/tick strategies
- Authorised vendor or exchange feed (L2/TBT) + colocation-like infra;
- Strictly review non-display usage policies & redistribution clauses. (NSE India, NSE India Search Archives)
“Minimum Viable Data Stack” (Indian retail/HNI desk)
- Market data: Broker API (Zerodha/Upstox/Dhan/Angel) for live + historical minute. (Kite, Upstox – Online Stock and Share Trading, dhanhq.co, Angel One)
- Reference & filings: NSE/BSE corporate actions and results. (NSE India)
- Risk overlays: India VIX, FPI flows (NSDL), AMFI AUM/NAV. (NSE India, NSDL FPI, AMFI India)
- Macro: RBI DBIE (rates, liquidity, FX). (Avantis CDN Production Storage)
- Scale-up path: Shift live market data to authorised vendor; retain broker only for order routing.
Featured comparison (free vs paid)
| Need | Free / Official | Paid / Commercial | Notes |
| EOD OHLCV | NSE/BSE bhavcopy | — | Great for long-horizon backtests; watch file format changes. (NSE India, BSE India) |
| Intraday minute | Some broker APIs (historic) | Broker APIs / Vendors | Check lookback limits & symbol caps. (Zerodha, Alice Blue API) |
| Real-time L1/L2 | — | Authorised vendors (GDFL/TrueData) | Lower latency + compliance. (Global Datafeeds, TrueData) |
| Tick/TBT | — | Exchange/vendor specialised feeds | Higher cost/infra; read non-display policy. (NSE India, NSE India Search Archives) |
| Corporate actions | NSE/BSE filings | Capitaline/ACE/CMIE | Paid databases add depth & QA. (NSE India, capitaline.com, prowess.cmie.com) |
| Flows & macro | NSDL/AMFI/RBI | — | Use for regime filters & risk caps. (NSDL FPI, AMFI India, Avantis CDN Production Storage) |
Implementation checklist (save this)
- Schema hygiene: unified time zone (IST), symbol mapping (NSE vs BSE), survivorship-bias-free universes.
- Corporate action engine: splits/bonus/mergers; re-base intraday where needed.
- Licensing: store purchase receipts, EULAs, and vendor authorisations (NSE/BSE). (NSE India Search Archives)
- Monitoring: drift checks between vendor feed and exchange reference closes.
- Resilience: reconnect logic for WebSockets; backfill on gaps.
FAQs
Is NSE/BSE data “free” to use in algos?
EOD reports are freely downloadable for research, but redistribution/commercial display is licensed. For live feeds or redistribution, use authorised vendors and follow data-usage policy. (NSE India, NSE India Search Archives)
Can I rely only on my broker’s WebSocket?
For many retail strategies, yes. As you scale symbols/frequency or need depth/tick, shift to an authorised feed for latency and compliance. (Zerodha, NSE India Search Archives)
Where do I get India VIX and index history?
From NSE’s official indices pages (downloadable CSV). (NSE India)
What changed in 2025 for retail algos?
SEBI’s circular introduced tagging/registration and broker obligations; exchanges issued operational modalities and timelines—coordinate with your broker/provider. (Securities and Exchange Board of India)
Author’s note (E-E-A-T): This guide synthesises official exchange/broker documentation and Indian market data policies to help you build robust, compliant data stacks for algos. Key references include NSE/BSE data portals, broker API pages, AMFI/NSDL, RBI DBIE, and SEBI’s 2025 circular. (NSE India, BSE India, Kite, Zerodha, AMFI India, NSDL FPI, Avantis CDN Production Storage, Securities and Exchange Board of India)
If you’d like, I can tailor a source matrix to your exact strategy (symbols, bar size, latency target, budget) and export it as a CSV for your build workflow.