India, Jan. 21 -- India VIX moves up when traders pay higher premiums for Nifty 50 options, mainly for downside protection. It moves down when fear reduces, hedges unwind, and option sellers are willing to write options at lower premiums. In simple terms, India VIX reflects how nervous or relaxed the options market is about the next 30 days.

This matters for normal investors because rising India VIX often comes with faster price swings, deeper intraday cuts, and weaker risk appetite. In that phase, smaller and mid-sized stocks can get hit harder, so BSE Small Cap sentiment can deteriorate faster than large caps.

What India VIX Measures in Simple Terms India VIX is an implied volatility index derived from the Nifty 50 index option prices...