India’s total registered investors rose to 10 crore in August: NSE

The number of registered investors in India rose to 10 crore in August 2024, according to a new report by the National Stock Exchange, or NSE.

The increase to 10 crore from the nine-crore mark happened in just around five month, indicating a growing enthusiasm among Indians in the equity markets, the NSE report adds.

The report makes note of the solid returns that Indian stocks have generally yielded over the past two years or so, as a big reason why people have taken to investing in the markets lately. Digitisation of services is also a big factor driving the surge in number of investors, the NSE report says, and there is better access to the markets now thanks to online facilities of transactions. Besides, there is a better understanding among the people of the country when it comes to managing personal portfolios, the report adds.

“A combination of a rise in digitisation, investor awareness, improved market access, and its relative performance against other asset classes has driven increased market participation since the pandemic,” the report states, pointing at the salient reasons why there has been an upsurge in investing in the markets of the country.

According to the report, new investors on an average primarily belong to “the 20-30 age bracket”. The trend represents the investment preferences among the youth of India today, who are increasingly realising the potential of equities as a way to make money.

The report notes how it took more than quarter of a century for India to get its first crore registered investors and how the number has grown rapidly since then.

“It took over 25 years to have a crore investor, but the subsequent milestones have been crossed much sooner,” the report says, adding that the stock market is no longer a hub of the financial elite but has started to attract people across societal strata.