Биржа NCDEX запустила платформу для инвестиций в паевые фонды в сельской местности Индии

In the tribal block of Ranipur, in Madhya Pradesh's Betul district, Sachin Choure has spent the past few weeks explaining a financial product most in the area have not heard of. The CEO of Agrovilla Farmer Producer Company, which serves around 800 farmers who already trust him to book their fertiliser and sell their produce, is now a licensed Mutual Fund Distributor. "Mostly, when we talk to farmers about investing, they say the share market is a scam," Choure says. This misconception, he explains, extends to mutual funds along with equities. Choure, 29, has so far spoken with nearly 10 to 12 farmers about switching some of their savings from fixed deposits into a systematic investment plan. Most, he says, want to do something other than an FD but simply don't know they have another option. Choure's attempt is a part of a much larger plan. NCDEX ( formerly National Commodity Derivatives Exchange) has just launched NCDEX Nidhi, a mutual fund transaction platform aimed at rural and semi-urban India. They unveiled the brand at a Mumbai event last month. Currently, the platform has around 7 AMCs on board - HDFC AMC, Tata AMC, Nippon India MF, Axis MF, PGIM MF, ABSL MF and LIC MF. The exchange received in-principle SEBI approval for the platform in December 2025, and describes it as a precursor to an eventual move into equity and equity derivatives trading. A decade of groundwork NCDEX's relationship with FPOs dates to 2016, when the exchange started running commodity risk-management training for farmer collectives, eventually engaging 800 to 900 FPOs a year across roughly 15 states to help office-bearers understand derivatives and price risk. That work showed an opportunity that FPOs, run by farmers elected to represent other farmers, had diversified into side businesses such as input shops, custom hiring centres, survey work for other agencies. The initiative is also banking on the opportunity from the FPO's relationship. A single FPO with 300 members has an effective footprint of 1,500 people or more once families are counted in. Under the former managing director Arun Raste who had worked with FPOs earlier in his career, the exchange decided to formalise that reach into a distribution channel, according to Pankaj Bhatt, who heads NCDEX's FPO business. The pitch to FPOs was simple – this would be a new, largely passive commission stream, built on relationships they already had. Initial challenges Convincing the FPOs was the first part. Candidates had to clear the NISM certification exam, and NCDEX quickly found the standard study material that was dense with financial jargon, in both English and Hindi was too complex. NCDEX staff sat the exam themselves first, then built simplified bilingual training material explaining mutual fund basics, NAV and portfolio ratios from the ground up, running sessions that stretched over several days. Of roughly 60 FPOs that have attempted the exam, about ten passed on the first try and another twenty cleared in a second attempt. Around 30 have cleared it to date. Cost was a second obstacle. FPOs are legally classified as corporate bodies, which means a roughly Rs 40,000 fee to register as a distributor. After lobbying from NCDEX, AMFI created a special FPO category and cut the fee, first to Rs 20,000 and then to Rs 10,000. About 20 FPOs have now cleared the exam and applied for authorised-representative status; several are already onboarded onto the platform, with the rest moving through paperwork. Geographically, the effort has concentrated in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra, and NCDEX is now extending training into Chhattisgarh and Uttar Pradesh. Southern states have proven harder to reach as the NISM exam is available only in English and Hindi, which has effectively excluded FPOs in states like Telangana even where there was interest, a gap NCDEX says it has flagged and is working to overcome. At the starting line Nearly 1,000 kilometres west of Choure's tribal district, in Kutch, Gujarat, Nayan Prabhatbhai Myatra is also working to expand the Mutual Fund reach. Myatra, 30, is CEO of Anjar Taluka Kisan Producer Company, which serves roughly 350 farmers across 25 to 30 villages near the Kutch border. His FPO has worked with NCDEX for nearly seven years, and that history, he says, made the mutual fund pitch an easy yes. When the exchange raised it with his board there was no real persuasion needed. He spent close to two months preparing for the NISM exam using NCDEX's material and says he didn't find it difficult, given he already had some grounding in mutual funds. He received his distributor licence about a month to six weeks ago. He describes himself as still researching which products and training approach to lead with. Myatra's view on the demand in his area differs by generation. Older farmers in his area remain committed to fixed deposits and are largely unmoved by the mutual fund pitch, he says, while people closer to his own age are more receptive and can see the appeal of returns beyond what an FD offers. His biggest concern isn't distrust so much as a knowledge gap – mutual fund awareness is still thin at the village level, and closing it, he says, will take the same door-to-door, meeting-by-meeting groundwork the FPO once used to organise farmers around commodity deposits. "It will be a challenge to explain this in the village area," he says, though not, in his view, an unworkable one. The FPOs are looking to expand through village-level workshops explaining, in plain terms, why a SIP might beat a fixed deposit, run through local farmers who already have credibility with their neighbours, rather than any digital marketing push. Both are also candid that they are still learning the products themselves Selling trust, not just product Several large fund houses are building simplified, tailored training material for the FPO channel. NCDEX has also asked AMCs to introduce the FPOs initially to a small number of well-known, lower-risk schemes, rather than handing new distributors a full shelf of products to explain. For LIC Mutual Fund, the focus is on using the FPO network to improve both access and understanding. “The emphasis is on ensuring that communication remains simple, transparent and investor centric. The objective is to lower barriers to participation, build confidence among first-time investors and encourage the gradual development of long-term financial habits,” said RK Jha, MD and CEO, LIC Mutual Fund Asset Management. Jha said FPOs could serve as a bridge between rural communities and the formal financial system because of their existing relationships with farmers. LIC MF also sees small-ticket investment options such as Pocket SIP as a way to make the first step easier for investors who may be unfamiliar with market-linked products. NCDEX and the FPOs say that the core barrier is psychological rather than technological. Risk literacy compounds the problem. But, FPO office-bearers, already versed in commodity-price swings through years of NCDEX derivatives training, say they're confident they can explain NAV fluctuations using the same logic farmers already apply to crop income. The Road Ahead With Nidhi now formally live, NCDEX says the immediate focus is onboarding more FPO distributors and getting the ones already licensed and trained.NCDEX has additionally set up a dedicated helpline for FPO distributors to reach out for questions or obstacles in the process. The exchange plans to fold mutual fund awareness into the agricultural extension work it already runs with FPOs and local agriculture officers. NCDEX’s Tojo Banerjee has described Nidhi as one building block toward NCDEX's broader ambition of becoming a multi-asset investment platform, as the exchange eyes eventual entry into the equity cash segment. Discover the latest Business News, Sensex, and Nifty updates. Obtain Personal Finance insights, tax queries, and expert opinions on Moneycontrol or download the Moneycontrol App to stay updated! Find the best of Al News in one place, specially curated for you every weekend. Stay on top of the latest tech trends and biggest startup news.