Economy & Banking

NSE Indices Launches Nifty500 Ahimsa Index Tracking Non-Violence-Aligned Firms

By TestNeeti Editorial TeamPublished Saturday, 11 July 2026 2 min readSource: India's News.Net (ANI)Article 6 of 11

NSE Indices Limited, the index services subsidiary of the National Stock Exchange (NSE), on July 11, 2026 launched the Nifty500 Ahimsa Index, a thematic index offering exposure to companies from the Nifty 500 universe whose business practices align with the principle of 'Ahimsa' (non-violence). Developed with the Ahimsagain Foundation under its Ahimsa Investment Movement (AIM) framework, the index classifies companies into Green, Orange and Red bands; only 'Green' band companies are eligible, while 'Orange' and 'Red' firms are excluded. The index has a base date of April 1, 2016 and a base value of 1,000, will be reconstituted semi-annually, and weights stocks by free-float market capitalisation. It can serve as a benchmark for ETFs, index funds and other passive products.

Key Facts & Details

9 points

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NSE Indices Limited, the index services subsidiary of the NSE, launched the Nifty500 Ahimsa Index on July 11, 2026.
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The index tracks Nifty 500 companies whose products, services and practices align with 'Ahimsa' (non-violence), particularly avoiding activities that harm animals.
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It was developed with the Ahimsagain Foundation under its Ahimsa Investment Movement (AIM) framework.
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Companies are classified into Green, Orange and Red bands; only 'Green' band companies are included, while Orange and Red are excluded.
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The index has a base date of April 1, 2016, a base value of 1,000, is reconstituted semi-annually, and uses free-float market capitalisation weighting.
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It is expected to serve as a benchmark for ETFs, index funds and other passive, ethics-screened investment products.

Deep Dive

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The launch expands NSE's suite of thematic and ESG-linked index offerings, integrating ethical/values-based screening with broad equity exposure.
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By drawing from the diversified Nifty 500 universe, the index aims to provide cross-sector representation while promoting responsible business practices.
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Market participants expect it could attract domestic and global funds increasingly adopting values-based screening in equity strategies.

Exam Focus

The launching body (NSE Indices), the index name (Nifty500 Ahimsa Index), the parent universe (Nifty 500), the collaborating body (Ahimsagain Foundation), and its band-based (Green/Orange/Red) selection method.

Exam Relevance & Angle

New market indices are core capital-markets and banking-awareness material. This item gives examiners precise, testable hooks — the index name, its Nifty 500 base, the AIM framework, and its ESG/ethical screening — making it relevant for RBI, banking and UPSC economy sections.

Target Exams

SBI POIBPS PORBI Grade BSSC CGLUPSC CSE

Background & Context

The National Stock Exchange (NSE) is India's largest stock exchange, and NSE Indices Limited designs and manages its family of indices, of which the Nifty 50 and Nifty 500 are among the most widely tracked. A thematic index selects constituents on a specific theme or screen rather than by size alone, while ESG-linked indices apply environmental, social and governance filters. Such indices act as benchmarks for passive products like Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) and index funds. Free-float market capitalisation weighting — used here — assigns each stock a weight based on shares available for public trading, the standard methodology for most Nifty indices.