UTI Master Index Fund (1998), India's first index fund

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

UTI Master Index Fund, launched in 1998 by the Unit Trust of India, was India’s first passive index-tracking mutual fund. Structured as an open-end scheme that replicated the composition of the BSE Sensex (the Bombay Stock Exchange’s benchmark 30-stock index), the fund offered investors proportionate exposure to India’s large-cap equity market at lower cost than active equity funds, without relying on a fund manager’s stock-selection decisions. Its launch predated the Nifty BeES ETF of December 2001 by approximately three years, making it the foundational product in the history of passive investing in India.

Master Index Fund on WebNotes

UTI Master Index Fund (1998), India's first index fund