The move to allow real estate investment trusts (REITs) and infrastructure investment trusts (InvITs) to become part of equity indices has been stonewalled by mutual fund (MF) disclosure norms.
 
Sources say as REITs and InvITs are not considered equity instruments, preventing passive funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) from investing in them. This technicality led to the National Stock Exchange (NSE) putting on hold its decision to include them in its indices.
 
On August 23, NSE Indices, an arm of NSE responsible for index compilation and licensing, said it would include Brookfield India REIT, Embassy Office Parks REIT, Mindspace Business Parks REIT, and IRB InvIT Fund in several of its indices, including the Nifty 500 and Midcap 150.
 
Last week, NSE Indices said the decision on indices had been revoked.

“(A) Few stakeholders…have raised certain concerns regarding inclusion...These are being exam