On the International Day of Sign Languages, HDFC Mutual Fund has launched a dedicated digital platform built entirely in Indian Sign Language (ISL) under its ongoing financial literacy initiative, Bharosa, designed for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (DHH) community With this launch, HDFC Mutual Fund becomes the first Indian Asset Management Company (AMC) to build a platform of this kind, extending the idea of financial inclusion through accessible, sign language-based investor education and awareness initiative.
Launched in August 2025, Bharosa has already engaged around 6000 individuals from the DHH community through ISL‑based investor awareness sessions. It lets users choose a financial goal such as retirement or a child’s education and learn through curated ISL videos on that goal. Users can also schedule a one-on-one session with a DHH coach, who guides them through their financial journey in ISL.
Over the past year, HDFC Mutual Fund has engaged with the DHH community to understand how it navigates financial decisions. That engagement surfaced one concern repeatedly: the fear of being misled, not from a lack of ambition, but from a lack of information in a language people could fully understand. The finding gave the platform its name, ‘Bharosa’, meaning trust.
Speaking about the initiative, Navneet Munot, Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer, HDFC Asset Management Company Limited, said, “Over the years financial inclusion has been measured by access to financial products and services. However, access alone is not enough. People also need information in a form they can follow before they can weigh their choices with any confidence.
“Through our engagement with the Deaf and hard of hearing community, we learnt how rarely that information is offered in a language they use. Bharosa, our financial literacy platform built entirely in Indian Sign Language, is a step in that direction. It offers videos organised around the goals people save for and one-on-one sessions with coaches from within the community, so that more people can take well-informed financial decisions,” Munot said.
To commemorate the platform’s launch, HDFC Mutual Fund has also released a digital film that follows a young expecting couple from the Deaf and Hard of Hearing community as they imagine the future they want to build for their child.
In that exchange, a quiet, familiar uncertainty surfaces. The film shows how clarity about one’s options can turn that uncertainty into confidence, right at the moments that matter most. The actors featured in the film are members of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing community, bringing authenticity and true representation to the narrative.
At its core, Bharosa is built on a simple belief: everyone deserves access to financial education in a language they understand. By making financial learning available through Indian Sign Language and a dedicated digital platform, HDFC Mutual Fund hopes to encourage a larger conversation around accessibility, inclusion and financial empowerment.
