Key Points

The registered investor base reached the one crore mark 14 years after the NSE started operations. The next one crore addition took about seven years, the subsequent one crore addition took about three and a half years, and the next one took a little over a year. In other words, it took over 25 years for the registered investor base to hit the 4-crore mark in March 2021, with the subsequent one crore investors being added in about 6-7 months.

Sriram Krishnan, Chief Business Development Officer, NSE, said, "This year, we have crossed another significant yardstick in terms of our investor base. After crossing the 11 crore mark in January, it is commendable that the number of investors onboarded by NSE has increased by an additional crore in about eight months, despite persistent concerns regarding the contours of global trade and geopolitics. This steady growth is supported by several key drivers: a streamlined Know Your Customer (KYC) process, enhanced financial literacy through stakeholder-led investor awareness programs, and sustained positive market sentiment. The rise in participation across Exchange-Traded instruments-- including Equities, Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs), Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs), Infrastructure Investment Trusts (InvITs), Government Bonds, and Corporate Bonds--underscores these factors."

Digitisation, greater fintech access, an expanding middle class, and supportive policy measures under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi drive India's rapid rise in investor participation.

"In this fiscal year thus far (as of September 23rd, 2025), the benchmark Nifty 50 index has generated returns of 7.0 per cent, while the Nifty 500 index has delivered a strong 9.3 per cent gain during this period. Annualised returns over the five-year period ending September 23, 2025, have been 17.7 per cent and 20.5 per cent for Nifty 50 and Nifty 500, respectively, higher than returns generated by broader emerging and developed market packs," the release said.

The market capitalisation of NSE-listed companies has increased at an annualised rate of 25.1 per cent during this five-year period to Rs 460 lakh crore as of September 23rd, 2025, leading to a significant accretion to the household wealth. Notably, individual investors, directly and indirectly via mutual funds, own 18.5 per cent of the market (NSE-listed companies) as of June 30, 2025.

"One in four investors today is a woman. Furthermore, we have observed a growing interest in financial markets and stock ownership among the country's youth in recent years - a testament to the trust these investors have placed in the capital market ecosystem. The 12 crore registered investors in India today have a median age of about 33 years, down from 38 years just five years ago, with nearly 40 per cent of them being less than 30 years old," the release said.

As of August 31st, 2025, there were three states with the count of unique registered investors more than a crore, with Maharashtra leading the pack with 1.9 crore (19 million) investors, followed by Uttar Pradesh with 1.4 crore (14 million) investors and Gujarat, the latest entrant in this set, with 1.03 crore (10.3 million) investors.

Indirect participation has also continued to rise steadily during the current fiscal year, as evidenced by nearly 2.9 crore (29 million) new SIP accounts opened between April 2025 and August 2025. During this period, average monthly SIP inflows stood at Rs 27,464 crore (~USD 3.2 billion), compared to Rs 21,883 crore (~USD 2.5 billion) in the corresponding months of the previous year.

- ANI