Tracking first ETF in India: Launched by Nippon India; Name, returns, top stocks invested, fund manager - Full details

India's First ETF, India's First Exchange Traded Fund: ETFs (Exchange Traded Funds) have become an important part of investment intruments in India. More investors, especially beginners, are choosing ETFs because they are simple to buy and sell like stocks, low-cost, and offer market-linked returns without the need to pick individual shares. This surge is not just in equity ETFs; gold and silver ETFs have also seen strong inflows as investors look for safer options during market uncertainty and rising global commodity prices.

This looks back at India’s first ETF, launched almost 25 years ago, and explains how it has grown from a small beginning to one of the largest and most traded ETFs in the country today. The rise in ETF listings, rapid growth in assets, and increasing investor trust show how ETFs have moved from a new experiment to an important part of India’s investment landscape. As Indians look for simple, transparent, and long-term investment tools, ETFs continue to attract attention like never before.

Exchange Traded Funds are baskets of securities (Indices) that are traded, like individual stocks, on an exchange. Unlike regular open-end mutual funds, ETFs can be bought and sold throughout the trading day like any stock. As per NSE, ETFs have lower cost of transactions and annual changes compared to index funds. ETFs are considered a safer product for risk averse and first-time investors who want market linked returns.

India’s First ETF: Nippon India ETF Nifty 50 BeES (Formerly Nippon India ETF Nifty BeES)

AUM as of January 2026: Rs 56,256.92 crore

As per Nippon India’s official website, the fund employs a passive investment approach designed to track the performance of Nifty 50 TRI. The fund seeks to achieve this goal by investing in securities constituting Nifty 50 Index in the same proportion as in the Index.

Nippon India ETF Nifty 50 BeES Performance (Growth Plan)

The Nippon India ETF Nifty 50 BeES (Growth Plan) is a passive exchange-traded fund that tracks the Nifty 50 Index, aiming to deliver returns closely aligned with the index's performance.

As of February 9, 2026, the latest Net Asset Value (NAV) stands at Rs 292.6020. This reflects an increase from the previous levels observed in early February (around Rs 290-291), consistent with recent market movements in the underlying Nifty 50 benchmark.

The fund's performance data (as of December 31, 2025, with NAV at Rs 295.2894) shows long-term results for an investment of Rs 10,000: Over the 1-year period, it grew to Rs 11,184, delivering 11.84 per cent returns, closely matching the Nifty 50 TRI benchmark at 11.88 per cent.

Managed by Himanshu Mange since December 2023, the ETF has consistently shown low tracking error, performing very closely to its Nifty 50 TRI benchmark across time horizons, while slightly underperforming the broader BSE Sensex TRI in some periods (e.g., 1-year Sensex TRI at 10.38 per cent).

Readers must note that past performance is not indicative of future results.

As per NSE, the journey to listing of the 100th ETF on NSE took more than 19 years. The last one-year period has seen a lot of activity in the ETF space, with 21 ETFs getting listed on NSE. The assets under management of ETFs in India is now at Rs. 10.94 lakh crores (end of December 2025), witnessing more than 48 times increase in ten years (Data as of December 2025), as compared to Rs 23,000 crores (end of April 2016).

(Disclaimer: The above article is meant for informational purposes only, and should not be considered as any investment advice. ET NOW DIGITAL suggests its readers/audience to consult their financial advisors before making any money related decisions.)

PremiumUpdated Feb 10, 2026 01:36 PM IST

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