Can anyone help me understand the difference between ETFs and Index MFs? For long term investors, is there a clear winner?
Basically Comparing:
Niftybees with Nippon India Index Fund Nifty plan
Bankbees with Motilal Oswal Nifty bank index fund
And so on…
In very simple terms, everything else being equal:
ETFs have a bit higher initial cost (impact cost, brokerage etc.) but low recurring cost (low expense ratio).
Index fund have low initial cost, but slightly higher recurring cost.
So if you just want to buy lumpsum and forget it ETF would be a better choice, if you want to invest systematically every month for long period, index fund would be more suitable.
All this with assumption that both ETF and index fund you are looking at have proven low tracking error
Also if you are trying to time the market (buy on intra day dip) ETF is better choice as you can buy during the day against day end NAV of index funds
Both are basically the same with some minor differences. ETFs are passively managed and their expense ratio is lower than index mutual funds. At the same time, ETFs can be NAV and price difference which means that when you go to buy or sell ETF units then instead of NAV you can get the market price which can be lower or higher. Such complication never happens in mutual funds. Both ETF and mutual funds can have tracking errors, so you need to check for those. Usually, mutual funds have better liquidity and this makes them a more suitable product.
Thanks, I think etfs will also have a high exit cost as the liquidity as not so great.
Since we are on this topic, when’s zerodha’s index funds/ etfs going live. Saw Nithin in some interview mentioning it would take some time. @siva - any visibility, and also your opinion on the original post
Oh yes, impact cost is on both legs, buy and sell.
Will take some time 
@abcd5662 Go with Index funds. Becz ETF’s have liquidity issue and most of the time you will end up buying at high price than NAV.
Index funds 
are better than ETF’s.
Index funds are always better than ETF’s for passive long term investors.
Guys Correct me if I’m wrong When we Buy & Sell any mutual fund whether index fund or not the only costs we incur are Stamp Duty at .005% on both sides and the said Expense Ratio and Exit Load(if any).
However, when buying and selling ETFs we’ll be bearing Stamp Duty, STT, Exchng Tax, Brokerage, DP Charges and impact costs.
So sensibly in most cases, mutual funds will be better than ETFs. Only after comparing the Expense Ratio that too. 
MF expense ratio often exceeds all* the above costs associated with ETFs.
Impact costs can be significant.
That is why it is important to choose an ETF with sufficient liquidity, volume, and less tracking error.