In 2024-25, capitalization of India’s stock markets crossed the USD 5 trillion mark for the first time, making India the fifth-largest capital market globally
Our Bureau
Mumbai
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s address at the 150-year celebrations of BSE had a message for all stakeholders of the financial markets, including the largest of all – the investors. Finance Minister Sitharaman, in particular, urged investors to remain informed, patient, and confident in the long-term promise of disciplined wealth creation.
To the market intermediaries and exchanges, she called for innovation with purpose, but investor interest should always be at the center. “To our corporates — let transparency, sound governance, and commitment to shareholder value be your guiding principles. To our regulators — remain proactive, agile, and responsive in a world defined by rapid change,” the finance minister said.
Addressing the BSE event, she opined that to truly democratize investment, stock exchanges must continually innovate and design products that are accessible, understandable, and aligned with the risk appetite and savings behavior of our citizens.
She told the exchange officials that the goal must be to make capital markets inclusive and rewarding for all strata of society. Investor education increasingly becomes vital in a rapidly growing market with increasing retail participation, she said.
She suggested that Investor Awareness Programs (IAPs) in regional languages should be conducted across urban and rural areas, with a focus on students, senior citizens, women, rural investors, and first-time traders.
Speaking about the role of stock exchanges, she noted that they serve as more than just trading platforms, as they are a crucial part of the capital markets.
“As first-line regulators, the stock exchanges carry a profound responsibility. At the same time, they need to balance the cost of compliance with such regulations and enable innovations and informed risk-taking,” she supplemented.
She also briefly spoke about the growth in Indian financial markets. Through reforms such as De-materialization, T+1 settlement, direct market access, and mutual fund penetration, Sitharaman stated that India has established one of the most robust market infrastructures in the world.
In 2024-25, capitalization of India’s stock markets crossed the USD 5 trillion mark for the first time, making India the fifth-largest capital market globally.
Over the years, the number of companies with a stock market capitalization of over Rs 1 lakh crore has increased steadily, rising from 1 in 2000 to 30 just before the pandemic, and then rising sharply to 81 today.
Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) have played an increasingly central role.
In the last financial year, DIIs recorded total inflows of Rs 6.1 lakh crore, far outpacing the Rs 1.3 lakh crore net outflows from FPIs. “This transition of DIIs from a supportive to a dominant force underlines the growing maturity and depth of India’s capital markets,” she noted.
The median age of Indian investors is 32 years, with over 40 per cent of them under the age of 30. Additionally, one in four investors today is a woman, she informed the gathering.
Despite fluctuations more Indian investors joined market in February
Despite the recent decline seen by Indian stock markets in tune with the global trends, the number of registered investors has continued to grow. According to a report by the National Stock Exchange (NSE), the total number of registered investors crossed 11.2 crore by the end of February 2025. This includes 11.3 lakh new investors who joined during the month alone.
“The registered investor base stood at 11.2 crore in Feb’25, with 11.3 lakh new investors added during the month. The total number of client codes registered with the exchange stood at 21.9 crore (219 million), reflecting all client registrations to date, as investors can register with multiple trading members,” the report said.
This rise in participation reflects strong growth in investor interest over the past year. The investor base crossed nine crore in February 2024 and reached 10 crore just five months later in August 2024. By January 20, 2025, it had already crossed the 11-crore mark.
In terms of regions, North India had the highest number of registered investors at 4.1 crore, followed by West India with 3.4 crore, South India with 2.3 crore, and East India with 1.3 crore.
In the last one year, North and East India saw the highest growth, with increases of 27.7 per cent and 27.3 per cent respectively. South India registered a 23.7 per cent rise, while West India grew by 20.1 per cent.
Looking at changes over the past five years, North India’s share of the total investor base has grown significantly–from 28.7 per cent in 2020 to 36.3 per cent in February 2025, a rise of 7.5 percentage points.
