NSE adds 1 crore investors in 5 months; surpasses 11 cr mark

New Delhi, Jan 22 (PTI) The National Stock Exchange (NSE) on Wednesday said its unique registered investors have crossed the 11 crore mark, with the latest 1 crore addition taking place in just five months, reflecting investor participation in the stock market through direct means.

Investor registrations at the NSE have experienced a remarkable acceleration in recent times, with a 3.6 times jump in the last five years.

It took 14 years since the NSE’s commencement of operations in 1994 to reach 1 crore investors. The pace then quickened, with the next 1 crore registrations taking about seven years, followed by another 3.5 years for the next crore and the subsequent milestone of adding the fourth crore took just over a year.

“The rate of growth has since quickened significantly, with each additional 1 crore investors being added in roughly 6-7 months, while the last 1 crore investors were added in just over five months, reflecting a shift in investor enthusiasm and participation in the stock market through direct means,” NSE said in a statement.

In the last five months, daily new unique investor registrations have consistently ranged between 47,000 and 73,000. This growth has been driven by several key factors, including the rapid advancement of digitisation, heightened investor awareness, financial inclusion efforts, and strong market performance.

In 2024, the Nifty 50 index delivered a return of 8.8 per cent while the Nifty 500 index saw an impressive 15.2 per cent gain. Indian markets have had positive returns for the past nine consecutive years.

“As the new year begins, India’s capital markets have achieved a significant milestone, with the number of registered investors at NSE exceeding the 11-crore mark. This rapid growth, with over one crore new investors added in just five months since crossing the 10-crore mark in August, reflects rising confidence of the Indian public in the stock market as a trusted avenue for wealth creation,” Sriram Krishnan, Chief Business Development Officer at NSE, said.

With this, the total number of client codes (accounts) registered with the exchange stands at 21 crore. This includes all client registrations done till date.

Notably, clients can register with more than one trading member.

Krishnan said that factors such as enhanced digital accessibility, increased investor education, and government initiatives promoting financial inclusion have driven this surge. Additionally, a younger, tech-savvy population and growing awareness of the benefits of equity investments have further accelerated this trend.

Investor growth has also expanded beyond the urban centres, with all but 30 pin codes in the country having investors registered with the exchange, implying a coverage of 99.84 per cent in the country.

In terms of geography, Maharashtra leads with 1.8 crore registered investors, followed by Uttar Pradesh at 1.2 crore, and Gujarat at 98 lakh and these three states account for 36.6 per cent of the 11 crore investors.