NSE Registered Investor Base Surpasses 13-Crore Milestone

NSE's Registered Investor Base Crosses 13-Crore Mark

The National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) has announced that its registered investor base has surpassed the 13-crore mark, reflecting continued growth in retail participation in the capital markets. This milestone was achieved on April 27, nearly seven months after the exchange crossed the 12-crore mark in September 2025.

The total number of client codes registered with the exchange stood at 25.7 crore as of April 25, 2026, having crossed 25 crore in February this year. These numbers include all accounts opened with trading members, with investors allowed to hold multiple accounts.

The expansion in investor base has accelerated significantly over the years, with the exchange taking 14 years to reach its first one crore investors and another 11 years to add three crore more. In recent years, however, it has taken about 6-8 months on an average to add one crore investors. This growth is attributed to wider digital access, rising investor awareness, and efforts by regulators and market infrastructure institutions to make capital markets more inclusive.

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Investor Growth Statistics

During the five-year period from FY21 to FY26, the investor base grew at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 26.4 percent, compared with 15.2 percent in the previous five-year period. The market capitalisation of NSE-listed companies rose at a CAGR of 18 percent over the same period to Rs 460.6 lakh crore, while individual investors, directly and through mutual funds, held 18.6 percent of the market as of December 2025.

The exchange also highlighted a shift in investor demographics, with the median age declining to around 33 years from 36 years in FY21. Nearly 40 percent of investors are below 30 years of age, while about one in four investors is a woman. Geographically, investor participation has widened, with investors now spread across 99.85 percent of pin codes in the country. Maharashtra leads with about 2 crore investors, followed by Uttar Pradesh at 1.5 crore, and Gujarat at 1.1 crore.

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States outside the top 10 account for 27 percent of the investor base, with smaller states, particularly in the Northeast, witnessing multi-fold growth in recent years. NSE Chief Business Development Officer Sriram Krishnan attributed the growth to simplified KYC processes, mobile-based access, and sustained investor awareness initiatives. The exchange also noted that participation is expanding beyond major urban centres and across a wider range of instruments, including equities, ETFs, REITs, InvITs, and bonds, indicating a more inclusive capital market ecosystem.