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While it is still unclear which shares should be included and which avoided, brokers said any Jain index would likely exclude stocks such as shoe maker Bata India Ltd., poultry company Venky's (India) Ltd., Insecticides (India) Ltd. and even Jubilant Food Works Ltd., which operates the Domino's Pizza chain in India. Jainism also bans smoking and drinking of alcohol so ITC Ltd., India's biggest cigarette maker, and United Spirits Ltd., the country's largest spirits producer, would also be out. Among the industries that may be allowed in the index are telecommunications, outsourcing, banking, traders said. That would mean phone companies such as Bharti Airtel Ltd., banks such as State Bank of India and maybe software companies including Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. could be part of the index. If launched, it will not be the first faith-based index. Islamic Countries do have Shariah indexes that are compliant with some Islamic beliefs. Islamic law doesn't permit Muslims to invest in companies that profit from charging interest or the sale of goods that are deemed sinful like alcohol and tobacco.
GOOD NEWS: Agriculture Technology Could Change How the World Eats
From Las Vegas Sun, Sunday, December 28, 2014
Investors and entrepreneurs behind some of the world's newest industries have started to put their money and tech talents into farming the world's oldest industry—with an audacious agenda: to make sure there is enough food for the 10 billion people expected to inhabit the planet by 2100, do it without destroying the world and make a pretty penny along the way.
Silicon Valley is pushing its way into every stage of the food-growing process, from tech tycoons buying the farmland to startups selling robots that work the fields to hackathons dedicated to building the next farming app.
An Ahimsa Crisis: You Decide
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