New demat account registrations in India witnessed a sharp recovery in June after slowing for the previous two months, supported by a strong rally in broader equity markets and increased retail investor participation.
Data from the Central Depository Services (India) Ltd (CDSL) and the National Securities Depository Ltd (NSDL) showed that investors opened a combined 25.7 lakh demat accounts in June, marking the highest monthly addition since February 2026, when 28.1 lakh accounts were added.
The June figure was higher than the 21.7 lakh accounts opened in May and slightly above the 25.2 lakh additions recorded during the same month last year.
CDSL accounted for the majority of new additions, registering 20.9 lakh new accounts during June, its strongest monthly growth in four months. NSDL added 4.8 lakh accounts, marking its highest monthly addition in nearly a year.
With the latest increase, the total number of demat accounts in India crossed 23.16 crore, rising 1.1% from the previous month and 16.3% compared with the year-ago period.
The improvement in account openings came amid a strong recovery in Indian equities since the beginning of April.
Retail investors showed increased interest in participating in the market rally, especially as mid-cap, small-cap and micro-cap stocks delivered strong returns.
Despite the market recovery beginning in April, demat additions remained relatively moderate during the first two months.
Around 22.3 lakh accounts were added in April, followed by 21.7 lakh in May, before gaining momentum in June.
Since April, benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty have gained around 8% each.
Broader markets performed even better, with the BSE 150 MidCap Index rising about 18%, the BSE 250 SmallCap Index climbing 22% and the BSE 250 Microcap Index gaining over 31%.
Improving global conditions also supported investor sentiment. Easing geopolitical tensions between Iran and Israel, lower crude oil prices and improving domestic economic conditions helped boost confidence.
Additionally, concerns around excessive valuations in AI infrastructure stocks and volatility in global technology markets encouraged investors to look more closely at Indian equities.
Government initiatives and Reserve Bank of India measures aimed at attracting foreign investment also contributed to market stability.
A revival in fundraising activities through Qualified Institutional Placements (QIPs), Offer for Sale (OFS) transactions, block deals and improving IPO activity further strengthened investor confidence.
