The National Stock Exchange (NSE) of India announced on Wednesday that its unique investors’ base (unique PANs) has crossed the 11-crore mark for the first time. The total number of client accounts registered with the exchange now stands at over 21 crore.
Investor registrations at the NSE have seen significant acceleration in recent years due to a surge in stock market participation, experiencing a 3.6-fold increase over the last five years.
It took 14 years from the NSE’s commencement of operations in 1994 to reach the 1-crore investor milestone. The pace quickened with the next 1 crore registrations taking about seven years, followed by another 3.5 years for the next crore. The fourth crore milestone was reached in 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. 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,” the NSE noted.
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 factors, including strong market performance, heightened investor awareness, financial inclusion efforts, and rapid digitization advancements.
In 2024, the Nifty 50 index delivered a return of 8.8 percent, while the Nifty 500 index saw an impressive 15.2 percent gain. Indian markets have recorded positive returns for the past nine consecutive years.
Over the five-year period ending December 2024, the Nifty 50 and Nifty 500 have generated annualized returns of 14.2 percent and 17.8 percent, respectively, further boosting investor confidence.
The market capitalization of NSE-listed companies has increased nearly six times from Rs 73.5 lakh crore as of May 1, 2014, to Rs 425 lakh crore as of now.
The sustained growth in investor registrations and market performance highlights the rising investor enthusiasm and robust development of the Indian stock market.
