What is iNAV?
NAV for any mutual fund scheme, including an ETF, is declared once a day by AMFI after markets close - it reflects the closing prices of everything the fund holds. But an ETF trades continuously during the day, and its underlying basket’s prices move the whole time. iNAV (Indicative NAV) is the exchange’s own running estimate of what the ETF’s NAV would be right now, computed from the live prices of its underlying holdings and published by NSE throughout the trading session.
iNAV is the closest real-time reference you have for an ETF’s fair value while markets are open - the previous day’s NAV is already stale by the time you’re placing a trade. Comparing the ETF’s live market price to its iNAV, not to yesterday’s NAV, is the right way to judge whether you’re paying a fair price right now.
A real example
Nippon India ETF Nifty 50 BeES: AMFI’s declared NAV (as of 2026-10-27) was ₹259.56. NSE’s iNAV at the close on 2026-10-28 was ₹258.98. The ETF’s own market close that day was ₹259.59 - just ₹0.61 above the same-day iNAV, a gap of about 0.2%, typical for a large, liquid ETF like this one.
How to use it in practice
Before placing a market order on an ETF, check its current iNAV if your broker displays it (most trading platforms show it alongside the live price for NSE-listed ETFs). If the market price is trading noticeably above iNAV, a limit order near iNAV avoids overpaying; if it’s trading below, the reverse applies for a seller. See premium/discount to NAV for how to read the size of that gap and whether it’s typical for a given ETF.
Common mistakes
iNAV itself only exists during the trading session and only from the point an exchange starts publishing it for a given ETF - it isn’t a historical series you can chart back in time the way NAV is, so don’t expect to find a long iNAV history. It’s also an estimate, not a guaranteed execution price: for an ETF holding illiquid or international securities, iNAV can itself lag the true fair value.
Frequently asked questions
Is iNAV the same as the ETF’s market price?
No. Market price is what the ETF is actually trading at on the exchange right now, set by real buy/sell orders. iNAV is a computed estimate of fair value based on the underlying holdings’ live prices - the two usually track closely for a liquid ETF but aren’t identical.
Why doesn’t every ETF have an iNAV?
NSE computes and publishes iNAV only for ETFs it has the live underlying-price feed for. International ETFs, where the underlying market may be closed during Indian trading hours, often show a stale or unavailable iNAV for that reason.
How often does iNAV update?
Typically every 15 seconds during market hours, computed from the underlying basket’s live prices - far more often than NAV, which updates once per day.
WHAT THIS MEANS FOR YOU A large gap between an ETF’s market price and its iNAV - not just its previous day’s NAV - is the clearest real-time signal that you might be about to pay (or receive) an unfair price. Check both numbers side by side before a trade, not just the one your broker’s app shows biggest.
METHODOLOGY Example figures from Punji’s live NSE/AMFI ETF data, as of 2026-10-28. Not investment advice.