The race to become the Vanguard of India’s stock market is on

India’s $442 billion asset management industry is finally having to reckon with the passive investing juggernaut. After decades of sluggish growth, the number of accounts invested in index-tracking or exchange-traded funds more than doubled to 5.6 million in the year to April.
Passive products now account for nearly a quarter of equity assets under management versus about 16% two years ago, data from the Association of Mutual Funds in India show. That compares to more than 50% in the U.S. The foundations for the boom were laid by a series of regulatory changes preventing active fund managers from gaming the league tables.