ETFs on WebNotes

Bank BeES

Mon, 18 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Bank BeES is the Nippon India ETF tracking the Nifty Bank Index, providing exchange-traded passive exposure to the top Indian banking sector stocks. Launched as part of the Benchmark Asset Management ETF family (alongside Nifty BeES ), Bank BeES is currently operated by Nippon India Mutual Fund following ownership transitions through Goldman Sachs (2011-2016) and Reliance/Nippon (2016-).

For Indian retail investors seeking sectoral banking exposure, Bank BeES offers:

Passive Nifty Bank tracking: 12 leading Indian banks (PSU + private).
Low TER: Approximately 0.15-0.20 per cent annually.
Intraday liquidity: Active trading on NSE.
Demat-mode: Standard demat account access.

Nifty Bank Index methodology

Composition

The Nifty Bank Index comprises 12 of the most-liquid and large-capitalised Indian banking sector stocks:

Bharat 22 ETF

Mon, 18 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Bharat 22 ETF is an exchange-traded fund launched by the Government of India in November 2017 containing a basket of 22 entities (CPSE and private holdings), complementing the earlier 2014 CPSE ETF . The ETF was designed with broader sectoral diversification to address the energy-sector concentration of the CPSE ETF. Bharat 22 ETF is currently managed by ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund under the Bharat 22 mandate from the Government of India.

For Indian retail investors, Bharat 22 ETF offers:

Bharat Bond ETF

Mon, 18 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Bharat Bond ETF is a series of target-maturity debt Exchange-Traded Funds launched by the Government of India in December 2019 in partnership with Edelweiss Mutual Fund . The ETF series invests in AAA-rated bonds issued by central public sector enterprises (CPSEs), public sector banks, and other government-related entities, with each ETF holding bonds maturing within a specific year (target maturity). The structure provides retail investors access to high-grade government PSU debt with predictable maturity profiles and exit liquidity through stock exchange trading.

CPSE ETF

Mon, 18 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The CPSE ETF (Central Public Sector Enterprise ETF) is a Government of India exchange-traded fund that tracks the Nifty CPSE Index , a concentrated basket of central public sector enterprise shares. It was launched in March 2014 as a disinvestment vehicle, lets a retail investor hold leading PSU stocks in a single instrument, and is managed by Nippon India Mutual Fund . It was the first government-promoted ETF in India and remains a core tool in the state’s disinvestment programme.

Debt ETFs in India

Mon, 18 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Debt ETFs in India are exchange-traded funds investing in debt securities including government bonds, corporate bonds, money-market instruments, and other fixed-income assets. Debt ETFs combine the diversification and management of debt mutual funds with the intra-day liquidity and price discovery of exchange-listed securities. The Indian debt ETF segment has grown materially since 2019, driven primarily by the Bharat Bond ETF launches and the broader retail interest in low-cost debt exposure.

For Indian retail investors, debt ETFs offer:

International ETFs in India

Mon, 18 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

International ETFs in India are exchange-traded funds listed on Indian stock exchanges that provide exposure to foreign equity markets through Indian-listed ETF structures. The category enables Indian retail investors to access foreign equity (Nasdaq 100, S&P 500, Hang Seng, FTSE 100, etc.) through standard demat-trading accounts without using the Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS) route.

For Indian retail investors, international ETFs offer:

Exchange-traded foreign exposure: Standard demat-account access.
Lower TER than international FoFs: Typically 0.50-1.00 per cent vs 1.50-2.50 per cent for FoFs.
Intraday liquidity: Buy and sell during Indian market hours.
Simpler than LRS direct investing: No foreign-banking requirements.

Major international ETFs in India

Nasdaq 100 focus

Motilal Oswal Nasdaq 100 ETF: The largest Indian Nasdaq 100 ETF.
Mirae Asset NYSE FANG+ ETF: Top FANG+ stocks.
Aditya Birla Sun Life Nasdaq 100 ETF.

S&P 500 focus

Motilal Oswal S&P 500 ETF.
HDFC S&P 500 ETF.

Hang Seng / Chinese exposure

Nippon India Hang Seng BeES.
Mirae Asset Hang Seng TECH ETF.

Operational considerations

Overseas investment cap

Subject to the overseas investment cap :

Nifty 50 ETF

Mon, 18 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

A Nifty 50 ETF is an exchange-traded fund that holds the 50 constituents of the Nifty 50 Index in their index weights and lists its units on the National Stock Exchange and Bombay Stock Exchange , where they trade through the day like a share. It is the foundational passive equity product in India: the first such fund, Nifty BeES , listed on 28 December 2001 and began the country’s ETF industry. A Nifty 50 ETF needs a demat account and tracks the index at a total expense ratio of about 0.02 to 0.06 per cent.

Nifty BeES

Mon, 18 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Nifty BeES (Nippon India ETF Nifty 50 BeES) is India’s first exchange-traded fund, launched on 28 December 2001 by Benchmark Asset Management Company. It tracks the Nifty 50 Index , trades on the National Stock Exchange under the symbol NIFTYBEES, and carries one of the lowest expense ratios of any Indian equity product, at roughly 0.03 to 0.04 per cent a year. The scheme is now run by Nippon India Mutual Fund , which inherited it through two ownership changes after Benchmark.

Silver ETF India

Mon, 18 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Silver ETFs in India are exchange-traded funds backed by physical silver holdings, providing retail investors exposure to silver prices without the storage, authenticity and purity concerns of physical silver. The category was enabled by SEBI’s October 2021 framework on silver ETFs, with the first Indian silver ETFs launched in early 2022. The category complements Gold ETFs (the older and larger precious-metal ETF category in India) by extending passive precious-metal exposure to silver.

Exchange-Traded Funds in India

Sun, 17 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) in India are exchange-listed passive-investment vehicles that track specific indices (equity, debt, commodity) and are traded on Indian stock exchanges (NSE and BSE) like individual stocks. ETFs combine the structural features of index mutual funds (passive tracking of an underlying index) with the operational features of exchange-listed stocks (real-time market pricing, intraday trading, demat-mode holding). The Indian ETF market emerged in 2001 with the launch of Benchmark Mutual Fund’s Nifty BeES (the first Indian ETF) and has grown substantially through the 2010s and 2020s, reflecting global passive-investing trends and increasing Indian retail-investor interest.

Equity ETF in India

Tue, 12 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

An equity exchange-traded fund (equity ETF) in India is a passively managed open-ended fund that tracks a specific equity index (such as the NIFTY 50, SENSEX, NIFTY Bank, or NIFTY Midcap 150), with its units listed and traded continuously on a stock exchange (NSE or BSE) during market hours. Unlike a conventional open-ended mutual fund (in which units are purchased and redeemed at the end-of-day NAV), equity ETF units trade intraday on the exchange at market prices that approximate the fund’s NAV, enabling real-time entry and exit.

Gold ETF in India

Tue, 12 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

A Gold ETF (Gold Exchange-Traded Fund) in India is an open-ended fund that is listed and traded on a stock exchange, where each unit represents ownership of a defined quantity of physical gold (typically 0.01 gram or 1 gram of gold of 99.5% or 99.9% purity). The fund’s assets are invested in physical gold held in a custodian-approved vault, and the NAV of each unit tracks the domestic gold price. SEBI regulates gold ETFs under the SEBI (Mutual Funds) Regulations, 1996, and has issued specific guidelines on gold ETF structure, custodianship, and audit requirements.

Nifty BeES, India's first exchange-traded fund (2001)

Tue, 12 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Nifty BeES (Nifty Benchmark Exchange-Traded Scheme), launched on 28 December 2001 by Benchmark Mutual Fund on the National Stock Exchange of India , was the first exchange-traded fund in India and the first equity-index ETF in Asia. It tracked the Nifty 50 index , with each unit representing one-tenth of the Nifty 50 index value, and was listed and continuously traded on the NSE during market hours at prices close to its net asset value. The launch of Nifty BeES preceded any mainland Chinese or Japanese equity ETF and inaugurated passive index investing as a viable instrument for Indian retail, institutional, and provident fund investors.