NISM Series IV Study Material: What to Use
The official NISM workbook, third-party notes and mock tests, and what each is genuinely good for.
The study material for NISM Series IV: Interest Rate Derivatives is NISM's own workbook, and it is free. You get a soft copy after you enrol for the exam, and you can download it earlier from NISM's study material page after filling in a short form. Printed copies are sold by Taxmann, NISM's publishing partner.
The workbook follows the exam's 9-chapter curriculum, so read it first. What it cannot do on its own is keep pace with the RBI and SEBI, who rewrite the rules behind chapters VI, VII and IX, or make you fast at the bond arithmetic in chapters I to III.
How to get the free workbook
- 1
Open NISM's study material download page
It is linked as Study Material Download FREE on the Series IV exam page. The form asks for your name, email, mobile number, city and state.
- 2
Pick the Interest Rate Derivatives workbook
Choose NISM-Series-IV: Interest Rate Derivatives Certification Examination, not Series XIII, which is the combined derivatives paper with a different chapter list.
- 3
Or wait for the soft copy after enrolment
NISM's FAQ says enrolled candidates receive the workbook by email. If it does not arrive, contact NISM's helpdesk.
- 4
Buy a print copy only if you want one
Taxmann sells printed NISM workbooks online. The content is the same as the free soft copy.
What to read alongside the workbook
Each companion maps to a chapter.
NISM Series IV workbook (free soft copy)
Chapter it supports
All 9 chapters
Use it for
Concepts, worked examples, contract terms, and the chapter-end sample questions NISM's FAQ points to
RBI Master Direction: Rupee Interest Rate Derivatives Directions, 2025 (dated December 8, 2025, in force from March 1, 2026, updated September 22, 2026)
Chapter it supports
VII (RBI guideline on exchange traded IRD), II and IV (who may participate and why)
Use it for
Current definitions of interest rate futures and options, and section 4 on what a recognised stock exchange may offer. It supersedes the earlier directions the workbook may cite
Securities Contracts (Regulation) Act, 1956
Chapter it supports
VII
Use it for
Why an exchange-traded derivative is a legal contract, and the powers under which SEBI recognises exchanges and clearing corporations
SEBI (Stock Brokers) Regulations, 2026
Chapter it supports
IX
Use it for
The broker's code of conduct. SEBI's updated regulations list shows the 2026 regulations in place of the 1992 ones, so check which version your notes quote
FIMMDA publications
Chapter it supports
VII (role of FIMMDA), I (valuation)
Use it for
FIMMDA is the industry body for the fixed income, money and derivatives markets. Know what it does
Exchange contract specification pages
Chapter it supports
II, III, V
Use it for
Lot size, tick size, expiry and settlement of the live contracts. Read after chapter II
| Material | Chapter it supports | Use it for |
|---|---|---|
| NISM Series IV workbook (free soft copy) | All 9 chapters | Concepts, worked examples, contract terms, and the chapter-end sample questions NISM's FAQ points to |
| RBI Master Direction: Rupee Interest Rate Derivatives Directions, 2025 (dated December 8, 2025, in force from March 1, 2026, updated September 22, 2026) | VII (RBI guideline on exchange traded IRD), II and IV (who may participate and why) | Current definitions of interest rate futures and options, and section 4 on what a recognised stock exchange may offer. It supersedes the earlier directions the workbook may cite |
| Securities Contracts (Regulation) Act, 1956 | VII | Why an exchange-traded derivative is a legal contract, and the powers under which SEBI recognises exchanges and clearing corporations |
| SEBI (Stock Brokers) Regulations, 2026 | IX | The broker's code of conduct. SEBI's updated regulations list shows the 2026 regulations in place of the 1992 ones, so check which version your notes quote |
| FIMMDA publications | VII (role of FIMMDA), I (valuation) | FIMMDA is the industry body for the fixed income, money and derivatives markets. Know what it does |
| Exchange contract specification pages | II, III, V | Lot size, tick size, expiry and settlement of the live contracts. Read after chapter II |
How to work the workbook chapter by chapter
Read in order; the rest of the book assumes chapter I.
- check_circleChapter I: do every calculation twice. Price from yield, yield from price, accrued interest, current yield vs yield to maturity, spot rates and the duration-based risk measures. The paper draws its arithmetic from here.
- check_circleChapter II: write out one interest rate futures contract on a single card: underlying, lot size, tick size, value of one tick, expiry and settlement. Then work the futures price computation and the futures vs FRA comparison.
- check_circleChapter III: learn moneyness, option styles and the Greeks as definitions, then draw the payoff diagrams yourself.
- check_circleChapter IV: for each strategy, state in one line who uses it, what rate move it protects against or bets on, and what it costs.
- check_circleChapters V and VI: definitions and sequences. Order types, circuit filters, settlement obligations, position limits, margins, the Core SGF and the CSCRF. Draw the flow from order to settlement.
- check_circleChapter VII: know which rule comes from the SC(R)A, which from the RBI, which from SEBI and what FIMMDA does. The paper tests the source of a rule as often as the rule itself.
- check_circleChapter VIII: one sitting. Accounting disclosures and tax treatment.
- check_circleChapter IX: treat the code of conduct, grievance redressal, ODR, the Investor Protection Fund, PoA, DDPI, risk disclosure and KYC as a client-protection checklist.
Free account, this exam preselected.
How Series IV tests what you read
Three kinds of questions come out of this material. The first is arithmetic from chapters I to III: the value of a one-tick move, a bond's price when yield changes, or an option's moneyness at a given rate. The second is a precise condition from chapters V to IX: which entity does what, which fund covers which default, which regulator issued which rule. The third is a definition dressed as a calculation: four numeric options, where only the chapter's definition tells you which applies.
The trap is the second kind. Summary notes compress "the clearing corporation collects margins and runs the Core SGF" into a list of names, and the question asks who collects. The 0.25 mark penalty on each wrong answer on this 100 mark paper means a guessed definition costs more than a skipped one. Read the workbook's sentence, not the note's keyword.
Spot stale notes in ten seconds
Check the chapter list. NISM's current curriculum has 9 chapters, with exchange-traded interest rate options as chapter III and the CSCRF, interoperability, ODR and DDPI inside chapters VI and IX. Notes that show five chapters, no options chapter, or none of those terms were written for an older workbook. Notes that cite the RBI's 2019 directions as current are also behind: the 2025 Master Direction applies from March 1, 2026. NISM publishes no chapter weightage.
FAQs
Where can I download the NISM Series IV workbook PDF?expand_more
From NISM's study material download page, after a short form. Enrolled candidates also receive a soft copy by email; if it does not arrive, NISM's FAQ says to contact its helpdesk.
Is the NISM interest rate derivatives study material free?expand_more
Yes. The soft copy is free, both as a download and as the copy sent after enrolment. Only the printed workbook, sold through Taxmann, is paid.
Is the NISM workbook enough to pass Series IV?expand_more
It covers the whole 9-chapter syllabus and carries the chapter-end sample questions. Add the RBI's 2025 Directions for chapter VII and the live contract specification for chapter II, and practise the chapter I to III calculations under time.
Does NISM provide sample questions for the interest rate derivatives exam?expand_more
Yes. NISM's FAQ points candidates to the chapter-end sample questions and the worked examples in the workbook, and explains how to appear for a mock test.
What are interest rate derivatives?expand_more
Contracts whose value moves with an interest rate or an interest-bearing instrument such as a government bond. On Indian exchanges they are interest rate futures and options, covered in workbook chapters II and III.
Next steps
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