India Witnessing Equity Revolution With 12 Crore Investors In Markets, Says NSE Chief Ashish Chauhan

India’s equity markets have witnessed an unprecedented transformation over the past decade, with the number of unique investors on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) rising sharply from 1.6 crore in 2014 to 12 crore in 2025, NSE CEO Ashish Chauhan said at CNBC-TV18’s Global Leadership Summit 2025.

“When Mr. Modi took over on that day, we had 1.6 crore unique investors. Today, after 11 years, we have 12 crore unique investors,” Chauhan said, describing the growth as “a miracle” in India’s financial evolution. Nearly half of these new investors joined in the past five years, largely fueled by the introduction of digital KYC during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“During COVID, SEBI allowed KYC to be done digitally. That enabled many brokers to reach every

corner of the country,” he said, noting that NSE now has investors from “every ZIP code except 28,” most of which represent airports.

Chauhan emphasised the growing democratization of investing in India, pointing out that “even people sitting in Ladakh or the Andaman Islands are putting money in small companies.” He called this growing participation a “virtuous cycle” reflecting the deepening trust in India’s capital markets.

Today, around nine crore households — roughly one-fourth of India’s total — are invested in equities. “You don’t see that type of number even in Germany,” Chauhan remarked. Women now account for nearly three crore, or 25 percent, of NSE’s investor base.

India’s total equity market capitalization has surged to about $5.3 trillion, equivalent to 160 percent of the country’s banking system. “It is amazing what has happened, that people are investing in risk assets,” Chauhan said. “It shows that over the last 11 years, India has become more middle class — one-fourth of households are now rich enough to invest in stock markets. It is unbelievable progress.”