The National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) reached another milestone in November 2025, with total unique trading accounts surpassing 24 crore (240 million). This milestone has been achieved in just over a year after the 20-crore mark (200 million) in October last year. The number of unique registered investors stands at 12.2 crore (as of October 31st, 2025), having surpassed the milestone of 12 crore unique registered investors (120 million) on September 22nd, 2025.
Investors can hold accounts across different brokers, leading to multiple client codes for the same individual. Maharashtra retained the top position with over 4 crore investor accounts (17% share), followed by Uttar Pradesh (2.7 crore, 11% share), Gujarat (2.1 crore, 9% share), West Bengal (1.4 crore, 6% share) and Rajasthan (1.4 crore, 6% share). Notably, the top five states held ~49% share of all investor accounts, while the top 10 states comprise over 73%.
Investor education has become vital amidst the sharp rise in post-pandemic investor participation in the Indian equity markets. As of September 30th, 2025, individual investors—both direct participants and those investing through mutual funds—hold 18.75% of NSE-listed companies, marking a 22-year high. Over the past five years, the Nifty 50 and Nifty 500 indices have generated strong annualised returns of 15% and 18%, respectively.
Several investor protection measures have also been implemented in recent years which have strengthened confidence in the markets, alongside rampant digitalisation, sustained innovation, growing middle class and progressive policy measures under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and Hon’ble Finance Minister Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman. NSE, SEBI, and the Government have strengthened the collective commitment to investor awareness and financial inclusion.
NSE has ramped up its efforts in the area of Investor Education over the past few years. NSE conducted 11,875 Investor Awareness Programs (IAPs) in the first half of FY26 alone, reaching nearly 6.2 lakh participants, as compared to 14,679 in the whole of FY25. NSE’s Investor Protection Fund (IPF) has also grown by 19% YoY to Rs 2,719 crore as of October 31st, 2025.
Shri Sriram Krishnan, Chief Business Development Officer, NSE said: “Retail investors continue to be optimistic about Indian capital markets, given the robust measures that have been implemented in the past few years including the standardization of mobile-based trading solutions, the implementation of a more streamlined Know Your Customer (KYC) process and strengthened investor awareness initiatives. These measures have helped sustain steady investor participation amid shifting global trade patterns and rapidly evolving geopolitical conditions, while also improving market accessibility, especially for investors residing
in tier 2, 3, and 4 cities. Investors now have access to a broad spectrum of instruments—equities, debt securities, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), real estate investment trusts (REITs), infrastructure investment trusts (InvITs), government bonds, and corporate bonds—reflecting the evolution of a technology-driven and inclusive financial ecosystem. These efforts have culminated in the Exchange achieving another major milestone this year, with the number of investor accounts on NSE surpassing the 24-crore mark in November.”