Demonetisation effect: Advance tax collections up 42%, returns filed up 25% on Business Standard. The effect of demonetisation was clearly seen in the growth of returns and taxes paid by individuals by August five, the extended deadline of filing income tax returns. The number of returns filed by this date stood at 28.3 million against 22.7

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Sound economics, good investment: Should you
opt for Bharat 22 ETF?
ETFs have become a preferred vehicle for parking the long-term money
Mayuresh Joshi is Fund Manager at Angel Broking
Last week, the government announced Bharat 22 ETFs, an exchange traded fund of 22 large cap
shares. While the composition includes mostly profit-making, dividend paying public sector
companies, the government is also including some shares of blue chip companies like ITC, Larsen
& Toubro and Axis Bank held under the Special Undertaking of Unit Trust of India or SUUTI.
Economic news
The government observed in the release that over the past 3 years to June 2017, assets under
management of exchange traded funds in India surged five times to just under Rs 54,000 crore.
The release also emphasized that exchange traded funds or ETFs are a popular class of funds

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globally. Assets under management are expected to grow to $7 trillion by 2021 from $4 trillion
today. There is merit in the argument the government has made in the press release.
ETFs have become a preferred vehicle for parking the long-term money. Sovereign Wealth Funds
and Pension Funds worldwide love them. While the average cost of fund management is high in
active funds, it is much lower in exchange-traded funds. At the same time, they are relatively less
risky with well-defined assets under management. The liquidity of these funds is also high since
they are listed on stock exchanges.
So if you make a checklist of investments, ETFs tick most of the boxes.
Why good economics?
The government's move to create Bharat 22 will allow it to raise money for meeting the
disinvestment target. The budget estimate puts it at over Rs 72,000 crore. So far, in 2017-18, it has
only managed to raise Rs 9,300 crore. The timing is just about right if they launch it now. This is
because stock markets are at a record high and new investors attracted to India are looking for
assets like blue chip company shares. The government could raise a significant amount of money
by transferring some of the direct holding to the ETF. The release issued last week does not
comment on the timing and the amount the government proposes to receive through this....
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