Mumbai: In a significant development for India’s capital markets, BSE Index Services Pvt. Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of BSE Ltd., has announced the launch of India’s first Saatvik Index – the BSE Saatvik 100. The newly launched index is designed for investors seeking to align their investment choices with value-based and philosophy-driven principles while participating in the equity markets.
The BSE Saatvik 100 Index has been created from companies that are part of the broader BSE 500 Index and meet specific Saatvik principles. The initiative marks a new chapter in thematic investing in India, reflecting the growing demand among investors for ethical, cultural, and values-based investment products.
India’s First Saatvik Equity Index
The BSE Saatvik 100 is the first index of its kind in the Indian stock market ecosystem. It has been developed to provide investors with a benchmark that aligns investment decisions with a distinct set of value-oriented principles.
The index draws its constituents from the BSE 500 Index, one of India’s broadest equity benchmarks, while applying specific filters based on Saatvik philosophy.
According to BSE Index Services, the launch reflects evolving investor preferences that increasingly consider factors beyond conventional financial performance metrics.
Key Features of the BSE Saatvik 100 Index
The newly launched index comes with the following features:
- Base Value: 1000
- First Value Date: June 20, 2005
- Universe: Selected constituents from the BSE 500 Index
- Reconstitution Frequency: Semi-annually
- Review Months: June and December
The periodic reconstitution ensures that the index remains aligned with its defined philosophy and methodology while reflecting changes in the market.
BSE Sees Growing Demand for Value-Based Investing
Speaking on the occasion, Ashutosh Singh, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of BSE Index Services Pvt. Ltd., said the launch represents an important milestone in expanding India’s thematic investment landscape.
According to him, investors today increasingly seek investment avenues that align with their ethical beliefs, cultural values, and broader philosophical considerations in addition to financial returns.
He noted that the BSE Saatvik 100 provides a credible benchmark that can serve as the foundation for a range of investment products tailored to such preferences.
Opportunities for ETFs, Index Funds and Portfolio Managers
One of the key advantages of the BSE Saatvik 100 is its potential use in passive investment strategies.
Market participants can utilise the index for:
Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs)
Asset management companies may develop ETFs that track the BSE Saatvik 100, allowing investors to gain exposure to the index through stock exchanges.
Index Funds
The index can also serve as the underlying benchmark for mutual fund schemes designed around passive investing strategies.
Portfolio Management Services (PMS)
Portfolio managers may use the benchmark for constructing and evaluating investment portfolios that follow value-based investment approaches.
Mutual Fund Benchmarking
The index can act as a performance benchmark for thematic and philosophy-driven mutual fund products.
The availability of such a benchmark is expected to broaden the range of investment products available to Indian investors.
Expanding India’s Index Ecosystem
The launch adds another specialised benchmark to BSE’s growing family of market indices.
Over the years, investors have witnessed the emergence of sectoral, thematic, ESG, sustainability-focused, and smart-beta indices. The introduction of the BSE Saatvik 100 further diversifies the Indian indexing landscape by introducing a philosophy-driven investment benchmark.
Industry observers believe such innovations can help attract investors seeking customised investment themes and long-term value alignment.
About BSE Index Services
BSE Index Services Pvt. Ltd., formerly known as Asia Index Pvt. Ltd., is a wholly-owned subsidiary of BSE Ltd.
The company is responsible for:
- Designing market indices
- Calculating and publishing benchmark indices
- Maintaining diversified index families
- Supporting investment product development
The organisation manages several benchmarks used by domestic and international investors to track market performance and develop investment products.
About BSE
BSE is Asia’s oldest stock exchange and one of the world’s largest exchanges by the number of listed companies.
The exchange has played a pivotal role in the development of India’s capital markets and remains home to the iconic SENSEX, which is widely regarded as a barometer of the Indian economy and equity market performance.
Apart from equity trading, BSE provides platforms for:
- Debt instruments
- Equity derivatives
- Currency derivatives
- Interest rate derivatives
- Mutual funds
- Stock lending and borrowing mechanisms
The launch of the BSE Saatvik 100 further strengthens BSE’s efforts to provide innovative investment benchmarks catering to evolving investor needs.
Significance of the Launch
The introduction of India’s first Saatvik Index reflects a broader shift in global and domestic investment trends, where investors increasingly seek alignment between financial goals and personal values.
With the BSE Saatvik 100, investors now have access to a benchmark that combines market participation with philosophy-driven investing, potentially paving the way for a new category of investment products in India’s financial ecosystem.
