{"id":114639,"date":"2026-07-23T11:01:00","date_gmt":"2026-07-23T05:31:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=114639"},"modified":"2026-07-23T11:01:00","modified_gmt":"2026-07-23T05:31:00","slug":"nse-ahimsa-index","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/nse-ahimsa-index\/","title":{"rendered":"NSE Ahimsa Index: India&#8217;s New Benchmark for Ethical and Animal Welfare Investing"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><b>NSE Ahimsa Index Latest News<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The National Stock Exchange (NSE) launched the Nifty 500 Ahimsa Index on July 10, 2026.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This is India&#8217;s <\/span><b>first thematic index<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> focused exclusively on animal cruelty-free companies, arriving weeks after BSE&#8217;s similar Saatvik 100 Index launched on June 17, 2026.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>National Stock Exchange: Structure, Role and Regulatory Framework<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The National Stock Exchange (NSE) is India&#8217;s premier stock exchange and a core pillar of the country&#8217;s financial system.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Established in 1992 and operational from 1994, it was set up to bring transparency, efficiency, and nationwide access to securities trading.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Headquartered in <\/span><b>Mumbai<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, NSE replaced India&#8217;s earlier manual trading system with a fully automated, screen-based platform.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Legal Status and Recognition<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">NSE is a regulated stock exchange, officially recognised under the <\/span><b>Securities Contracts (Regulation) Act, 1956<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It offers trading across multiple asset classes:<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Equities (shares)<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Derivatives (futures and options)<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Currency and commodity products<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Debt securities<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It is owned by major financial institutions, banks, and insurers, and operates under the regulatory oversight of the <\/span><b>Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Organisational Structure<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Ownership &#8211;<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Key shareholders include major public institutions such as LIC, SBI, ICICI Bank, and GIC.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Management &#8211;<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> NSE is run by a Board of Directors, supported by executive leadership and functional departments covering trading, clearing, settlement, and surveillance.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Regulatory Oversight<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> &#8211; SEBI regulates NSE under multiple statutes, including the Companies Act, the SEBI Act, the Securities Contracts (Regulation) Act, and the Depositories Act.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Clearing, Settlement and Depository Services<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> &#8211; Clearing and settlement functions are handled by NSE Clearing Limited; Depository services are provided through the National Securities Depository Limited (NSDL).<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Governing Legal Framework<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">NSE&#8217;s functioning is governed by four key legislations:<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Securities Contracts (Regulation) Act, 1956<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Companies Act, 2013<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">SEBI Act, 1992<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Depositories Act, 1996<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>About Ahimsa Index<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Nifty 500 Ahimsa Index tracks <\/span><b>top 500 NSE companies<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> whose business practices align with the principle of &#8220;Ahimsa&#8221; (non-violence).\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It gives investors a way to invest specifically in companies that avoid activities harming animals.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This marks a shift from conventional ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) investing, which focuses on carbon emissions and governance metrics, toward a values-based screening rooted in Indian philosophical traditions.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The index was developed jointly by <\/span><b>NSE Indices and the Ahimsagain Foundation<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, a non-profit established in November 2024 by ethical finance advocates.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Selection Framework<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Companies are evaluated using the Ahimsa Investment Movement (<\/span><b>AIM<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">) framework, which classifies firms into three bands:<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>Green band<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Fully compliant with animal-cruelty-free criteria<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>Orange band<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Partial compliance<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>Red band<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Non-compliant<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Only green-band companies are included in the index.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Who Is Included and Excluded<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The index includes leading companies from IT services, automobile, real estate, and healthcare sectors.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Notable exclusions include:<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Most Reliance Group companies (except Reliance Power)<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Pharmaceutical companies using animal testing<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">All commercial banks and major NBFCs<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Dairy, meat, poultry, and leather companies<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Fashion brands, retail chains, and cosmetics companies using leather or wool<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Comparison with BSE&#8217;s Saatvik Index<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">BSE&#8217;s Saatvik 100 Index, launched earlier, has a broader mandate. It screens against <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">animal cruelty, addictive or toxic products, and generally harmful or violent business activities<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The near-simultaneous launch of two thematic ethical indices by India&#8217;s major exchanges signals a new direction in India&#8217;s capital markets \u2014 screening companies through <\/span><b>indigenous philosophical lenses<\/b> <b>rather than only global ESG frameworks<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Global ESG frameworks are structured guidelines that help companies measure and report their performance on Environmental, Social, and Governance factors.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>Environmental:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Tracks a company&#8217;s impact on nature, including greenhouse gas emissions, waste management, energy efficiency, and water use.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>Social:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Evaluates how a company treats people, covering labor practices, workplace health and safety, diversity, and community relations.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>Governance:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Assesses corporate leadership, executive pay, business ethics, internal controls, and shareholder rights.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Significance for Investors<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Expected to serve as a benchmark for asset managers.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Likely to enable new passive investment products such as ETFs and index funds.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Reflects a broader trend of younger, values-conscious investors entering capital markets.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Market analysts note it will take time for mutual funds to build products around this theme, but see long-term growth potential.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Conclusion<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">NSE&#8217;s Ahimsa Index reflects a maturing Indian capital market willing to root ethical investing in home-grown philosophical concepts rather than borrowed frameworks.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As younger, values-driven investors enter the market, such indices could reshape how corporate responsibility is measured and rewarded in India.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Source:<\/b><strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/explained\/explained-economics\/nse-new-ahimsa-index-ethical-investing-animal-rights-10796425\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">IE<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/timesofindia.indiatimes.com\/business\/india-business\/nses-ahimsa-index-targets-cruelty-free-investing\/articleshow\/132525900.cms\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">ToI<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The NSE Ahimsa Index promotes ethical investing by tracking animal cruelty-free companies, offering investors a values-based benchmark rooted in India&#8217;s philosophy of Ahimsa.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":114657,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[60,8879,22,59],"class_list":["post-114639","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-upsc-mains-current-affairs","tag-mains-articles","tag-nse-ahimsa-index","tag-upsc-current-affairs","tag-upsc-mains-current-affairs-tag","no-featured-image-padding"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114639","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=114639"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114639\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":114664,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114639\/revisions\/114664"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/114657"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=114639"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=114639"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=114639"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}