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Shariq Nisar
Photo: Bandighat, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons5

Shariq Nisar

Indian economist

Shariq Nisar is an Indian finance professional, academic and activist. He has made an impact on Islamic Finance in India with his work and has been in roles both in academia, in the financial markets, and in industry.2

From Wikipedia’s article on Shariq Nisar (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.

Companies

Early life and education

He received a PhD in economics from Aligarh Muslim University, one of the oldest universities in India.

From Wikipedia’s article on Shariq Nisar (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.

Career

He co-founded TASIS (Taqwaa Advisory and Shariah Investment Solutions), a shariah advisory institution, related to finance, based in Mumbai, that screens stocks for Shariah compliance. His first major work was the launch of India's first Shariah Index in association with the Bombay Stock Exchange (i.e. "BSE TASIS Shariah 50").

Later on he worked with the National Stock Exchange to launch Shariah index for them. He is advisor to Kerala Government's Islamic Finance venture Cheraman Financial Services Ltd. He also helped Government of India owned General Insurance Corporation of India (GIC Re) establish its Retakaful division in 2009.

During 2013 and 2014, he served as a senior visiting fellow at Harvard Law School. He was invited to share his views before the Select Committee of Indian Parliament on the Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill (2015).

He served as a non-executive independent director at Octaware Technologies from November, 2015 to December 2018, India's first shariah compliant publicly listed company.

Nisar has also authored various books in the area of Islamic Finance with International as well as Indian perspectives. He has been awarded Bharat Inclusion Research Fellowship 2020 Archived 8 August 2022 at the Wayback Machine. Since 2017, he teaches a course at the University of Luxembourg.

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Other work

Nisar has contributed to several ethical finance initiatives in the Indian capital market. In 2009, he worked with Taurus Asset Management Company to launch India’s first ethical mutual fund, the Taurus Ethical Fund, with which he continues to be associated. From 2017 to 2020, he served as a strategy advisor to Tata Mutual Fund for their Tata Ethical Fund, focusing on outreach to grassroots investors. More recently, in December 2024, he became associated with India’s third ethical fund, launched by Quantum Asset Management Company.

Nisar is also a member of the Ethics Committee at Mount Judi Ventures, a SEBI-approved venture capital fund. He is part of the governance team of Valuable, a SEBI-approved venture debt fund focused on inclusion and the Sustainable Development Goals. He also serves on the advisory board of AssetMine.

Additionally, Dr. Nisar advises Asia Index Private Ltd., a subsidiary of the Bombay Stock Exchange, where he plays a key role in developing and maintaining the BSE 500 Shariah Index. He is also a member of the Management Board at Uplift Mutuals, an NGO working on mutual insurance for marginalized communities.

From Wikipedia’s article on Shariq Nisar (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.

Sources

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