IPO Ahimsa Classification Methodology
How we label a company Ahimsa, Partial Ahimsa or Non-Ahimsa — and what those labels do and do not mean.
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Many investors want to know whether a company's business involves harm to animals before they put money into it. For companies already listed there are now published screens for exactly this — the Ahimsa Investment Movement's AQ (Ahimsa Quotient) framework, and the Nifty500 Ahimsa Index launched by NSE Indices with the Ahimsagain Foundation in July 2026.
Neither reaches a company that has not listed yet. That is the gap we fill: the IPO Guru Ahimsa Framework applies the same three-band idea to IPOs and unlisted shares, so the question can be asked before the shares exist rather than years afterwards.
The Three Bands
Every company we cover falls into one of three bands, decided by what its business actually does — the products it makes and the money it earns, not every possible indirect link.
Very little or no animal involvement in the core business.
Software & IT · Telecom · Cement · Machinery · Hospitals · Mining · Oil & gas · Synthetic leather · Housing finance · Insurers · Stock exchanges
A genuine but smaller animal-linked line, or money spread across the economy.
Banks & NBFCs · Broking · Asset management · Hotels serving non-veg · FMCG with a honey or ghee line · Apparel with a small leather range
Direct, significant or core involvement in animal harm.
Meat, poultry, fish, eggs & dairy · Leather, wool & silk · Animal feed · Drugs, cosmetics & biotech · Insecticides · Alcohol · Tobacco · Weapons · Gambling
No fixed revenue cut-offs. The AQ framework publishes none — its bands turn on qualitative judgements about what is a "real and significant part" of a business versus a "tiny amount". Ours necessarily do the same, and reasonable people can disagree about individual companies.
Where Each Industry Lands
A few placements surprise people, so they are worth stating outright.
Healthcare delivery, not drug manufacture
A substitute for the animal product, not the product
Finance tied to one animal-neutral purpose
Market infrastructure, no lending exposure
Ordinary manufacturing with no animal input
Money spread broadly across the whole economy
A real but smaller animal-linked line
One genuine animal-based product among many
Depend on legally required live-animal testing
Conduct animal testing or use animal-derived materials
Products designed to kill animals
Core business is an animal product
| Business | Band | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Hospitals & diagnostics | Ahimsa | Healthcare delivery, not drug manufacture |
| Synthetic & PU leather | Ahimsa | A substitute for the animal product, not the product |
| Housing finance & insurers | Ahimsa | Finance tied to one animal-neutral purpose |
| Stock exchanges & depositories | Ahimsa | Market infrastructure, no lending exposure |
| Sugar mills, paints, tyres | Ahimsa | Ordinary manufacturing with no animal input |
| Banks, NBFCs, asset managers | Partial Ahimsa | Money spread broadly across the whole economy |
| Hotels & parks serving non-veg | Partial Ahimsa | A real but smaller animal-linked line |
| FMCG with a honey or ghee line | Partial Ahimsa | One genuine animal-based product among many |
| Drug & cosmetic manufacturers | Non-Ahimsa | Depend on legally required live-animal testing |
| Contract research & biotech | Non-Ahimsa | Conduct animal testing or use animal-derived materials |
| Insecticides & rodenticides | Non-Ahimsa | Products designed to kill animals |
| Dairy, meat, poultry, fisheries | Non-Ahimsa | Core business is an animal product |
On Pharmaceuticals
This is the classification people query most, so it is worth stating plainly.
A company whose core business is making drugs or cosmetics relies on large-scale, legally required live-animal testing, and is therefore placed in the lowest band. Contract Research Organisations and biotech firms that conduct animal testing, or depend on animal-derived laboratory materials, are treated the same way.
What this label does not say
It follows that many perfectly reputable, well-run pharmaceutical companies carry a Non-Ahimsa label here. That is a statement about an industry-wide regulatory requirement — not an allegation of wrongdoing by any particular company, and not a comment on its products, ethics or quality. Hospitals, diagnostics and healthcare services are a separate case and sit in the Ahimsa band.
How We Assign a Band
We read what the company says about itself
Its name, its business description and the stated objects of the issue — the company's own words in its own filings, not a third-party summary.
We match that against a published activity list
The business activities in each band are set out above and maintained in the open. Every label records which of them applied.
An editor reviews the result
Every Non-Ahimsa label is confirmed by a person before it ever appears on the site. Automation proposes; it does not publish.
Unclear cases get no label at all
If a company's description does not say enough to judge, we show nothing rather than guess.
Wherever a badge appears on the site, hovering over it shows the reason that band was assigned, and clicking it brings you back here.
Attribution & Independence
The IPO Guru Ahimsa Framework is based on the AQ framework published by the Ahimsa Investment Movement, and we gratefully acknowledge that work as its foundation.
We maintain our own framework, however, and refine its categories as we learn — so a band shown here may differ from AIM's own view of the same company, and any error in a label here is ours, not theirs.
No affiliation
IPO Guru is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or acting on behalf of the Ahimsa Investment Movement, the Ahimsagain Foundation, or NSE Indices Limited. "Nifty500 Ahimsa Index" is a mark of NSE Indices Limited; we do not reproduce that index or its constituent list, and inclusion in or exclusion from it is not implied by anything shown here.
What This Is Not
These labels describe what a business does. IPO Guru is not a SEBI registered investment advisor or research analyst, and an Ahimsa band is none of the following.
See our full disclaimer for how we handle all content on this site.
Think a label is wrong?
We would rather be corrected than be wrong. If you represent a company and believe its classification does not reflect its business — or if you are a reader who has spotted an error — tell us and we will review it.
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