Sectoral on WebNotes

Banking and Financial Services mutual fund

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

A Banking and Financial Services (BFSI) mutual fund is a thematic equity scheme that invests at least 80 per cent of its corpus in banks, NBFCs, insurance companies, asset managers, and other financial-services entities. The category sits within the SEBI sectoral and thematic framework. BFSI is one of the most popular thematic mutual fund categories in India, reflecting:

Banking’s dominance in the Indian equity market (financial services ~30-35% of Nifty 50).
Multi-decade structural growth of Indian financial services.
Broad investor familiarity with banking sector dynamics.

For Indian retail investors, BFSI mutual funds offer:

Energy mutual fund

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

An Energy mutual fund is a thematic equity scheme that invests at least 80 per cent of its corpus in oil and gas, power, renewables, and energy-services companies. The category sits within the SEBI sectoral and thematic framework. Energy funds capture commodity-cycle and energy-transition equity exposure in a single thematic scheme.

For Indian retail investors, energy mutual funds offer:

Commodity-cycle exposure: Oil and gas pricing dynamics.
Power generation and utilities: Stable utility-like cash flows.
Renewables transition: Growing exposure to solar, wind, EV charging.
PSU energy heavy: Many large energy companies are PSUs.

Major energy funds

DSP Natural Resources and New Energy Fund.
Tata Resources and Energy Fund.
SBI Energy Opportunities Fund.
HDFC Energy Transition Fund.
ICICI Prudential Energy Opportunities Fund.

The category is smaller than other sectoral categories but growing with energy-transition tailwinds.

FMCG and consumption mutual fund

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

An FMCG and consumption mutual fund is an equity scheme that invests at least 80 per cent of its corpus in consumer companies, either in the narrow fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector or across the broader consumption theme. The category sits within the SEBI sectoral and thematic framework. An FMCG fund and a consumption fund are not the same thing: the first tracks a single sector dominated by staples makers, while the second spans autos, telecom, durables, apparel and services as well as packaged goods.

Infrastructure mutual fund

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

An Infrastructure mutual fund is a thematic equity scheme that invests at least 80 per cent of its corpus in infrastructure, capital goods, construction, engineering, and related companies. The category sits within the SEBI sectoral and thematic framework. Infrastructure funds capture the Indian capex cycle through equity exposure to companies benefiting from government and private infrastructure spending.

For Indian retail investors, infrastructure mutual funds offer:

Capex-cycle exposure: Riding the Indian capex revival.
Government spending plays: Beneficiaries of infrastructure budget allocations.
Sector diversification: Construction + capital goods + engineering + transportation.
Cyclical alpha potential: Strong returns during capex upcycles.

Major infrastructure funds

HDFC Infrastructure Fund.
ICICI Prudential Infrastructure Fund.
SBI Infrastructure Fund.
DSP T.I.G.E.R. Fund: The Infrastructure Growth and Economic Reforms fund.
Aditya Birla Sun Life Infrastructure Fund.
Tata Infrastructure Fund.
Franklin Build India Fund.
Bandhan Infrastructure Fund.

Investment universe

Infrastructure funds invest across:

Manufacturing mutual fund

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

A Manufacturing mutual fund is a thematic equity scheme that invests at least 80 per cent of its corpus in manufacturing-themed companies including industrials, capital goods, defence, electronics, automotive, and related sectors. The category was popularised in the 2020-2024 period reflecting the Make in India and Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme tailwinds driving Indian manufacturing capex.

For Indian retail investors, manufacturing mutual funds offer:

Make in India tailwind: Government-driven manufacturing push.
PLI scheme beneficiaries: Across electronics, pharma APIs, autos, etc.
Diversified manufacturing exposure: Industrials + capital goods + autos + defence.
Cyclical opportunity: Indian manufacturing capex revival.

Major manufacturing funds

ICICI Prudential Manufacturing Fund: One of the early entrants in the category.
Aditya Birla Sun Life Manufacturing Equity Fund.
Kotak Manufacture in India Fund.
HDFC Defence Fund: Focused on defence manufacturing subset.
Tata Indian Industrials Fund.

Many of these were launched 2020-2023 to capture the Make in India theme.

Pharma and Healthcare mutual fund

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

A Pharma and Healthcare mutual fund is a thematic equity scheme that invests at least 80 per cent of its corpus in pharmaceutical, healthcare, and life-sciences companies. The category sits within the SEBI sectoral and thematic framework. Pharma/healthcare is a popular thematic category among Indian retail investors, reflecting India’s position as a global pharma hub and the defensive characteristics of healthcare equity.

For Indian retail investors, pharma/healthcare mutual funds offer:

Defensive equity exposure: Less cyclical than industrials, banking.
Export-oriented growth: Indian pharma’s global export footprint.
Demographic tailwind: Aging populations driving healthcare demand.
Sectoral diversification: Pharma manufacturers + hospitals + diagnostics + medtech.

Major pharma/healthcare funds

ICICI Prudential Pharma Healthcare and Diagnostics (P.H.D.) Fund.
SBI Healthcare Opportunities Fund.
Nippon India Pharma Fund.
DSP Healthcare Fund.
Aditya Birla Sun Life Pharma and Healthcare Fund.
Mirae Asset Healthcare Fund.
Tata India Pharma and Healthcare Fund.

Investment universe

Pharma/healthcare funds invest across:

PSU mutual fund (Public Sector Undertaking equity scheme)

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

A PSU mutual fund is a thematic equity scheme that invests primarily in Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) stocks, the listed companies in which the Government of India or a state government holds a controlling stake. The category sits within the SEBI sectoral and thematic framework set by the October 2017 categorisation circular, and as a thematic scheme each fund must keep at least 80 per cent of its assets in PSU equity. PSU funds drew heavy retail interest through 2023 and 2024 after a sharp run in Indian public-sector stocks across energy, defence, banking, and infrastructure.

Technology mutual fund (IT sector)

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

A technology mutual fund is a thematic equity scheme that invests at least 80 per cent of its corpus in technology, IT services, software, and digital-economy companies. The category sits within the SEBI sectoral and thematic framework. Technology is the second-largest sectoral allocation in Indian equity markets (after financial services), making tech-focused funds a meaningful satellite allocation option for investors.

For Indian retail investors, technology mutual funds offer:

IT services exposure: TCS, Infosys, Wipro, HCL Tech and others.
Software and product exposure: Tech Mahindra, MphasiS, LTI Mindtree.
Digital-economy plays: Zomato, Paytm, Nykaa, Policy Bazaar.
Export-oriented growth: IT services as India’s largest service export.

Major technology funds

ICICI Prudential Technology Fund.
SBI Technology Opportunities Fund.
Tata Digital India Fund.
Aditya Birla Sun Life Digital India Fund.
Nippon India Information Technology Fund.
DSP Technology and Communications Fund.
Franklin India Technology Fund.

Investment universe

Technology funds invest across:

NIFTY Bank TRI

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

The NIFTY Bank Total Returns Index (NIFTY Bank TRI), also widely known as Bank Nifty TRI, is the dividend-reinvested variant of the NIFTY Bank index maintained by NSE Indices Limited. The NIFTY Bank index comprises the 12 most liquid and capitalised banking sector stocks listed on the National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) , spanning private sector banks, public sector banks, and small finance banks. The underlying price return index, NIFTY Bank (Bank Nifty), is one of the most actively traded derivatives contracts in the world by open interest, while the TRI variant serves as the benchmark for banking sector mutual fund schemes and ETFs in India.

NIFTY FMCG TRI

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

The NIFTY FMCG Total Returns Index (NIFTY FMCG TRI) is the dividend-reinvested variant of the NIFTY FMCG index, published by NSE Indices Limited. The index covers the 15 largest and most liquid fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies listed on the National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) . The FMCG sector encompasses companies that produce household staples, packaged foods, beverages, personal care products, and over-the-counter consumer health products – all characterised by high sales volume, relatively low unit value, and repetitive purchase cycles. The NIFTY FMCG TRI serves as the benchmark for FMCG and consumption-themed mutual fund schemes and ETFs in India.

NIFTY IT TRI

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

The NIFTY IT Total Returns Index (NIFTY IT TRI) is the dividend-reinvested variant of the NIFTY IT index, administered by NSE Indices Limited. The index tracks the 10 largest and most liquid information technology companies listed on the National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) , encompassing India’s premier software services exporters, IT consulting companies, and digital transformation providers. It is among the most internationally linked of all sectoral Indian indices: the revenue and earnings of its constituents are predominantly denominated in US dollars and Euros, making the index sensitive to global technology spending cycles, the rupee-dollar exchange rate, and demand from US and European corporations.

NIFTY Pharma TRI

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

The NIFTY Pharma Total Returns Index (NIFTY Pharma TRI) is the dividend-reinvested variant of the NIFTY Pharma index, maintained by NSE Indices Limited. The index covers the 20 largest and most liquid pharmaceutical and healthcare-related companies listed on the National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) . India is the world’s third-largest pharmaceutical producer by volume and the largest supplier of generic medicines globally; the NIFTY Pharma index reflects this industry’s representation in the Indian equity market. The TRI variant is used as the performance benchmark for pharmaceutical and healthcare sector mutual fund schemes and ETFs.