The National Stock Exchange's index services subsidiary, NSE Indices Limited, has launched the Nifty500 Ahimsa Index, marking a significant expansion of thematic indices designed to cater to evolving investor preferences. According to The Economic Times, the index aims to provide a transparent, rules-based benchmark that combines ethical investment considerations with broad-based exposure to the equity market. The launch represents NSE's commitment to offering investors exposure to companies that align with principles of non-violence and animal welfare while maintaining diversified equity market exposure across multiple sectors.
The Nifty500 Ahimsa index has demonstrated strong performance since its inception on April 1, 2016, delivering a 15.11% CAGR return over the past five years. As per Business Standard, the index has generated a 13.09% CAGR over the last five years, with one-year total returns standing at -0.98%. The index is designed to provide investors with exposure to companies that align with principles of non-violence and animal welfare while maintaining diversified equity market exposure across multiple sectors.
The Nifty500 Ahimsa index comprises 326 companies selected from the Nifty 500 universe that do not engage in activities considered harmful to animals. According to The Economic Times, the index draws its constituents from the diversified Nifty 500 universe, providing representation across sectors while selecting companies that demonstrate stronger alignment with responsible and sustainable business practices under the Ahimsa Investment Movement (AIM) framework. The largest sector allocations include Automobile & Auto Components (13.05%), Capital Goods (12.20%), Information Technology (11.80%) and Financial Services (10.35%).
The top constituents by weight include Bharti Airtel (6.01%), Infosys (3.74%), Mahindra & Mahindra (2.92%), Tata Consultancy Services (2.21%) and Maruti Suzuki India (1.96%). As reported by Business Standard, the index has a base date of April 01, 2016 with a base value of 1000, and will be reconstituted semi-annually with the weight of each stock based on its free-float market capitalisation. This classification system provides a clear framework for identifying companies that meet the index's ethical criteria and serves as a benchmark for asset managers to facilitate the development of passive investment products, including Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs), index funds and other structured investment solutions.
The Nifty500 Ahimsa index aims to promote companies with ethical business practices by providing investors with exposure to companies from the Nifty 500 universe that are aligned with the principles of non-violence. According to The Economic Times, the index is aimed at investors who wish to invest in stocks of companies that do not engage in activities that harm animals, offering a transparent, rules-based benchmark that integrates ethical considerations with broad-based equity market exposure. The framework evaluates companies based on the extent to which their products, services and business practices align with Ahimsa principles, with the Ahimsagain Foundation's AIM framework classifying companies into Green, Orange and Red categories based on their alignment with Ahimsa principles, ensuring only companies in the Green category are eligible for inclusion.
