Domestic mutual funds join the ESG bandwagon, but it's still early days

Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investing is in vogue globally. India also is making slow but steady progress on this front. Since October 2020, domestic MFs have launched six ESG-oriented schemes. Such schemes recorded inflows of over Rs 3,700 crore during the second half of 2020-21.
 
Currently, ESG funds have AUM of around Rs 10,500 crore. On an average ESG funds have given returns of around 58.5 per cent in the past year compared to the Sensex’s 55.4 per cent.
 
Usually, these funds invest in companies focused on conserving the environment, positively impacting communities that they operate in,