NSE crosses 12 crore investors, women account for one in four

The National Stock Exchange (NSE) of India on Thursday said its registered investor base crossed 12 crore on September 23, marking a milestone in the country’s rapid expansion of retail participation. Women now make up one in every four investors on the exchange.

The total number of investor accounts, measured by unique client codes, stood at 23.5 crore. NSE’s investor roll has accelerated in recent years: while it took the exchange 14 years to add its first crore of investors and more than 25 years to reach 4 crore in March 2021, the latest 1 crore were added in just about eight months, after the base crossed 11 crore in January.

“This year, we have crossed another significant yardstick in terms of our investor base,” said Sriram Krishnan, Chief Business Development Officer at NSE. “After crossing the 11-crore mark in January, it is commendable that the investors onboarded by NSE have increased by an additional crore in about eight months, despite persistent concerns regarding global trade and geopolitics.”

Krishnan attributed the growth to “a streamlined Know Your Customer (KYC) process, enhanced financial literacy through stakeholder-led investor awareness programs, and sustained positive market sentiment.” He said participation has broadened across equities, exchange-traded funds, real estate investment trusts, infrastructure investment trusts, government bonds, and corporate bonds.

Younger investors, wider reach

The exchange reported that the median age of India’s investors has dropped to 33 years from 38 five years ago, with nearly 40% of the base now under 30. Investor participation spans 99.85% of the country’s pin codes. Maharashtra leads with 1.9 crore investors, followed by Uttar Pradesh with 1.4 crore and Gujarat with 1.03 crore.

Markets support the surge

The expansion has coincided with buoyant equity markets. In the current fiscal year to date, the Nifty 50 has returned 7%, while the Nifty 500 is up 9.3%. Over five years, the indices have delivered annualized returns of 17.7% and 20.5%, outpacing global benchmarks.

Market capitalization of NSE-listed firms has grown at an annualized rate of 25.1% in that period, reaching Rs 460 lakh crore. Individual investors—directly and through mutual funds—now hold 18.5% of listed company equity as of June 30.

SIP flows and investor awareness rise

Indirect participation is also climbing. Nearly 2.9 crore new systematic investment plan (SIP) accounts were opened between April and August 2025, with average monthly inflows of Rs 27,464 crore, compared with Rs 21,883 crore a year earlier.

NSE said its investor education programs have quadrupled in five years to 14,679 in FY25, reaching more than 8 lakh participants. Its Investor Protection Fund grew 21% year-on-year to Rs 2,644 crore as of August.

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