The centre has launched BHARAT-22 exchange traded fund (ETF), managed by ICICI Prudential mutual fund to target an initial amount of about Rs 8,000 crore. The new fund offer is open till November 17.

The units of the scheme will be allotted 25 percent to each category of investors. In this ETF, the retirement fund has been made separate category for the investors. In case of spill-over, additional portion will be allocated to retail and retirement funds. It offers three percent discount as well.

The strength of this ETF lies in the specially created Index S&P BSE BHARAT-22 Index which is a unique blend of shares of key CPSEs, public sector banks (PSBs) and also the government owned shares in blue chip private companies like Larsen & Tubro (L&T), Axis Bank and ITC. The shares of the government companies represent six core sectors of the economy - finance, industry, energy, utilities, fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) and basic materials. It makes the index broad-based and diversified. The strength of the index has been demonstrated in its performance since its launch in August, 2017 wherein it outperformed NIFTY-50 and Sensex.

The index constituents include Maharatana and Navratana enterprises like Coal India, GAIL, Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd. (PGCIL), National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC), Indian Oil Corporation Ltd., Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), Bharat Petroleum, and National Aluminum Company (NALCO), three PSBs—SBI, Bank of Baroda apart from the three private sector companies.