Index Funds on WebNotes

Nifty 500 index fund

Tue, 19 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

A Nifty 500 index fund is a passive mutual fund that holds the constituents of the Nifty 500 in their index weights, giving Indian investors broad-market equity exposure across large-cap, mid-cap and small-cap in one holding. The Nifty 500 covers the top 500 NSE-listed companies by full market capitalisation, about 92 per cent of the free-float market cap of the National Stock Exchange as on 30 March 2026. That makes a Nifty 500 fund the broadest single-index passive option in the Indian mutual fund universe, far wider than a Nifty 50 fund (top 50 only) or the segment-specific Nifty Midcap 150 and Nifty Smallcap 250 funds.

Nifty 100 Index Fund

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

A Nifty 100 Index Fund is a passive mutual fund that holds the 100 largest companies listed on the National Stock Exchange by free-float market capitalisation, in their index weights, with no active stock selection. The Nifty 100 covers about 65 per cent of NSE free-float market cap as on 30 March 2026 and combines the Nifty 50 and the Nifty Next 50 , so a single fund delivers the full large-cap segment of the Indian market.

Nifty Bank Index Fund

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

A Nifty Bank Index Fund is a passive mutual fund scheme that tracks the Nifty Bank Index, comprising 12 of the most-liquid and large-capitalised Indian banking sector stocks. The index includes both private and public sector banks, with Nifty 50-style free-float weighting. The category provides cost-efficient passive exposure to Indian banking equity for retail investors who want sectoral banking exposure without the higher TER of active BFSI funds.

For Indian retail investors, Nifty Bank Index Funds offer:

Nifty IT Index Fund

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

A Nifty IT Index Fund is a passive mutual fund scheme that tracks the Nifty IT Index, comprising 10 of the most-liquid and large-capitalised Indian information technology services companies. The index provides concentrated passive exposure to India’s IT services sector, the second-largest sectoral category in Indian equity markets after financial services.

For Indian retail investors, Nifty IT Index Funds offer:

Passive IT services exposure: Top 10 Indian IT services companies.
Low TER: 0.30-0.50 per cent annually.
Sectoral overweight option: Beyond the ~14-18% IT weight in Nifty 50.
Equity-oriented tax treatment: 12.5% LTCG advantage.

Index methodology

The Nifty IT Index comprises 10 IT services companies:

Nifty LargeMidcap 250 Index Fund

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

A Nifty LargeMidcap 250 Index Fund is a passive mutual fund scheme tracking the Nifty LargeMidcap 250 Index, comprising the top 100 large-cap Indian companies (Nifty 100) and the top 150 mid-cap companies (Nifty Midcap 150), with the index typically constructed in a 50-50 weight allocation between the two segments. The index is maintained by NSE Indices Limited.

For Indian retail investors, Nifty LargeMidcap 250 Index Funds offer:

Single-fund balanced large-mid exposure: 50 per cent large-cap stability + 50 per cent mid-cap growth.
Operational simplicity: One scheme instead of separate Nifty 100 + Nifty Midcap 150.
Low TER: 0.30-0.50 per cent annually.
Equity-oriented tax treatment: 12.5% LTCG advantage.

This article covers the index methodology, the major schemes, the role as balanced large-mid allocation, and the comparison with separate large-cap and mid-cap funds.

Nifty Midcap 150 Index Fund

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

A Nifty Midcap 150 Index Fund is a passive open-ended mutual fund that tracks the Nifty Midcap 150 Total Return Index, holding the 150 companies ranked 101st to 250th by full market capitalisation in their index weights, regulated under the SEBI (Mutual Funds) Regulations 1996 . It gives mid-cap exposure for a direct-plan expense ratio between 0.21 and 0.47 per cent, where an active mid-cap fund charges 1.50 to 2.00 per cent.

Nifty Smallcap 250 Index Fund

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

A Nifty Smallcap 250 Index Fund is a passive open-ended mutual fund that tracks the Nifty Smallcap 250 Total Return Index, holding the 250 companies ranked 251st to 500th by full market capitalisation in their index weights, regulated under the SEBI (Mutual Funds) Regulations 1996 . It gives small-cap exposure for a direct-plan expense ratio between 0.24 and 0.40 per cent, where an active small-cap fund charges 1.50 to 2.00 per cent.

Passive ELSS (index-based tax-saver fund)

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

A passive ELSS is an index-based Equity Linked Savings Scheme (ELSS) that tracks a defined equity index rather than active stock selection, while retaining the Section 80C tax-deduction benefit and the three-year ELSS lock-in . Passive ELSS schemes are a relatively newer category in India, enabled by SEBI framework provisions that allow passive index-tracking within the ELSS structure.

For Indian retail investors using Section 80C, passive ELSS offers:

Lower TER: Typically 0.30-0.60 per cent vs 1.5-2.0 per cent for active ELSS.
Section 80C deduction: Up to Rs 1.5 lakh annual deduction.
Three-year lock-in: Same as active ELSS (shortest among 80C instruments).
No fund-manager risk: Index-tracking eliminates active management risk.

SEBI framework

The SEBI ELSS framework allows passive (index-based) ELSS schemes provided:

Sensex Index Fund

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

A Sensex Index Fund is a passive mutual fund scheme that tracks the BSE Sensex (also known as the BSE 30 or simply the Sensex), the benchmark index of the Bombay Stock Exchange comprising 30 large-cap Indian companies. The Sensex is one of India’s two principal stock-market benchmark indices alongside the Nifty 50 , with both indices having significant overlap in their constituents (the 30 Sensex stocks are largely a subset of the Nifty 50 top 50).

Large-cap fund vs index fund in India

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

A large-cap mutual fund is an actively managed scheme that, under SEBI ’s categorisation circular of 6 October 2017, must invest at least 80 per cent of total assets in the equity of large-cap companies, defined as the top 100 companies by full market capitalisation listed on the National Stock Exchange and BSE per the AMFI semi-annual ranking. An index fund tracking the Nifty 50 , Nifty 100 or Sensex draws from the same universe but replicates the index by rules, holding its constituents in their weights with no stock selection. The active fund charges a higher fee for the chance of beating the index; the index fund charges a fraction of that and accepts the index return minus its cost.

NIFTY 50 index fund

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

A NIFTY 50 index fund is a passive open-ended equity scheme that replicates the NIFTY 50 index by holding the same 50 stocks in the same proportions (by free-float market capitalisation weight) as the index, with the objective of generating returns equal to those of the NIFTY 50 Total Return Index (TRI) net of expenses and tracking error. SEBI ’s October 2017 categorisation circular permits AMCs to operate multiple index funds tracking different indices, making NIFTY 50 index funds the most widely available and oldest passive equity category in India.