India ETFs on the ASX vs Indian Mutual Funds: Which Is the Better Route?

Introduction

If you’re an Australian investor looking to get exposure to India’s market, you’ve got two basic options: buy an India-focused ETF on the ASX, or invest directly in Indian mutual funds through an NRI-focused platform.

Both give you access to Indian equities. But the mechanics, costs, fund selection, and tax treatment are meaningfully different. This isn’t a case where one is objectively better — it depends on what you’re trying to do, how hands-on you want to be, and whether simplicity or fund selection matters more. Platforms like Indus have closed much of the convenience gap that once made ETFs the obvious default.

Let’s break it down.

India ETFs Available on the ASX

As of 2026, there are a small number of India-focused ETFs listed on the Australian Securities Exchange. The main ones are:

NDIA — Global X India Nifty 50 ETF

Tracks the Nifty 50 index — India’s 50 largest companies by market capitalisation. This gives you broad large-cap Indian equity exposure. The management fee is around 0.69%. It’s a straightforward index-tracking product.

IIND — BetaShares India Quality ETF

Tracks an index of Indian companies selected by quality metrics (ROE, earnings stability, leverage). It’s not a pure market-cap index — it’s a factor-tilted product. Management fee is around 0.80%. This gives you a quality-screened subset of the Indian market rather than broad index exposure.

Other Options

There are a few other products (including actively managed India funds) that appear intermittently, but NDIA and IIND are the primary liquid, well-known options for Australian investors. The total number of India-focused choices on the ASX is very limited compared to what’s available in the Indian mutual fund market.

Investing Directly in Indian Mutual Funds

The alternative — available to NRIs, OCIs, PIOs, and in fact any NZ or AU resident — is investing directly in SEBI-regulated Indian mutual funds through platforms like Indus. This route gives you access to the Indian mutual fund market: over 40 AMCs and a wide range of equity fund categories including large-cap, mid-cap, small-cap, flexi-cap, index, and sectoral funds. (The broader Indian market also includes debt and hybrid funds, though Indus currently focuses on equity mutual funds.)

In Australia, Indus offers 500+ mutual fund plans.

Head-to-Head Comparison

Where ASX India ETFs Have the Advantage

Simplicity. If you already have a CommSec or brokerage account, buying NDIA or IIND takes 30 seconds. No PAN card, no KYC, no NRE account. It’s as easy as buying any other ASX stock. That said, platforms like Indus have simplified the direct route significantly — onboarding takes about 3 minutes with just your Australian driver’s licence, and Indus is open to any AU resident, not just NRIs.

No Indian tax complexity. Gains are taxed purely under Australian CGT rules. You don’t deal with Indian TDS, DTAA paperwork, or cross-border tax filing. For non-NRI Australian investors with no Indian tax nexus, this is a significant simplification.

However, if you invest directly through Indus, the platform provides detailed tax statements that your Australian accountant can use to claim foreign income tax offsets — Indus does the heavy lifting allowing you to invest in Indian Mutual Funds while keeping things as simple as the process one would encounter with an ETF.

Where Indian Mutual Funds Have the Advantage

Fund selection. This is the biggest gap. ASX gives you 2–3 India products. Direct investing gives you access to 500+ schemes. Want a small-cap fund? A debt fund for stability? A sectoral bet on Indian pharma or IT? A flexi-cap strategy from a specific AMC? None of that is available through ASX ETFs.

Lower expense ratios on certain plans. Mutual fund plans in India have expense ratios as low as 0.30% for index funds — significantly cheaper than the 0.69–0.80% you’d pay on ASX India ETFs. Even actively managed plans often come in at 0.8–1.2%, competitive with or cheaper than ASX ETF fees. Over a decade, the fee difference compounds substantially.

SIP automation. If you want to invest a fixed amount every month (rupee cost averaging), mutual funds support automated SIP natively. On the ASX, there’s no built-in SIP — you’d need to manually place a buy order each month. Platforms like Indus automate the entire flow: AUD debit → INR conversion → fund investment, on a schedule you set once.

Debt and hybrid fund access. ASX India ETFs are equity-only. The broader Indian mutual fund market also includes debt funds (corporate bonds, government securities) and hybrid strategies (balanced advantage funds), which are accessible through the direct investment route if you want to diversify beyond equity. Indus currently focuses on equity mutual funds, which covers the most popular categories: large-cap, mid-cap, small-cap, flexi-cap, index, and sectoral funds.

Portfolio customisation. With mutual funds, you can build a diversified equity portfolio: 40% large-cap index fund, 30% flexi-cap, 20% mid-cap, 10% sectoral, for example. With ETFs, you get one index per product — take it or leave it.

Which Route Is Right for You?

ASX India ETFs make sense if: you’re not an NRI and don’t have an Indian PAN card, you want simple one-click India exposure through your existing brokerage, you don’t need debt or hybrid fund access, and you prefer all your tax reporting to be in Australian dollars under Australian rules.

However, with Indus, you can now gain access to the Mutual Funds in 3 minutes seamlessly.

Indian mutual funds make sense if: you’re an NRI, OCI, or PIO with an Indian PAN card, you want access to the full range of Indian fund categories, you value lower expense ratios through direct plans, you want to set up automated SIP investing, or you want to build a customised India portfolio beyond a single large-cap index.

Many NRI investors actually use both: an ASX India ETF within their Australian super or brokerage for simplicity, and Indian Indian mutual funds for their dedicated India allocation with more control and lower costs. The two approaches aren’t mutually exclusive.

A Note for NZ Investors

There is currently no India-focused ETF on the NZX. NZ investors can access US-listed India ETFs through platforms like Hatch or Sharesies, but these introduce USD currency conversion, US withholding tax, and higher expense ratios. For NZ-based NRIs, direct Indian mutual funds through Indus are the primary route — with the added advantage of 0% Indian tax on returns under the DTAA.

Ready to Go Beyond ETFs?

If you’re an Australian or New Zealand resident looking for more than a single India ETF can offer, Indus gives you access to Indian equity mutual funds with lower fees, automated SIP investing, and a 3-minute setup. All you need is a local driver’s licence — no Indian bank branch visit required. Indus is authorised under an AFSL licence holder in Australia and registered with the FMA in New Zealand. For NZ residents, DTAA compliance is automated and you pay 0% Indian tax on returns.