About Circuit breaker in Trading:
- The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) implemented index-based market-wide circuit breakers in June 2001.
- Circuit breakers are triggered to prevent markets from crashing due to a panic-induced sale of stocks.
- This can occur for a variety of reasons, leading to stockholders in the market believing that their stocks are overvalued. As a result, they engage in a sell-off.
- Circuit breakers temporarily halt trading, thereby halting the sell-off.
- Circuit-breakers effectively limit how much a stock’s value can fall in a single day/trading session, resulting in a more stable market overall.
How do these work?
- This index-based market-wide circuit breaker system applies at three stages of the index movement, at 10, 15 and 20 per cent.
When triggered, these circuit breakers bring about a coordinated trading halt in all equity and equity derivative markets nationwide.
Q1) What is the equity derivative?
An equity derivative is a financial instrument whose value is based on the equity movements of the underlying asset.
Source: Most Adani stocks hit lower circuits again: What is a circuit breaker in the stock market?
Last updated on August, 2026
→ UPSC Mains 2026 will be conducted on 21st, 22nd, 23rd, 29th and 30th August 2026.
→ Check out the latest UPSC Syllabus 2026 here.
→ UPSC Mains Admit Card 2026 is expected to be released in early August at upsc.gov.in or upsconline.nic.in
→ Enroll in Vajiram & Ravi’s UPSC Mains Test Series 2026 for structured answer writing practice, expert evaluation, and exam-oriented feedback.
→ Go through the UPSC Mains Previous Year Papers to enhance your preparation.
→ Download UPSC Mains Essay Paper 2025, UPSC Mains GS Paper-I 2025, UPSC Mains GS Paper-II 2025, UPSC Mains GS Paper-III 2025, UPSC Mains GS Paper-IV 2025, UPSC Mains English (Compulsory) Paper 2025, UPSC Mains Hindi (Qualifying) Paper 2025 here.
→ UPSC has released UPSC Toppers List 2025 with the Civil Services final result on its official website.
→ UPSC Calendar 2027 has been released.
→ Also check Best UPSC Coaching in India







