New Delhi: India’s capital markets are witnessing a strong surge in retail investor participation, with 235 lakh new demat accounts added during FY26 up to December 2025, according to the Economic Survey 2025-26 tabled in Parliament on Thursday. The milestone reflects growing financial awareness and confidence among households, even as global trade uncertainties and geopolitical tensions continue to impact markets worldwide.
The Economic Survey noted that despite volatile foreign investment flows, India’s equity markets showed measured yet resilient performance during April to December 2025. The Nifty rose by around 11.1 per cent, while the Sensex gained nearly 10.1 per cent in the same period, supported by strong domestic investor participation, improving corporate earnings and supportive policy measures such as tax relief, easing inflation and accommodative monetary policy.
A major highlight of the year was the crossing of 12 crore unique demat investors in September 2025, with nearly one-fourth of them being women. The growing investor base also extended beyond big cities, with the mutual fund industry recording 5.9 crore unique investors by December 2025, out of which 3.5 crore came from non-tier I and tier II cities. The Survey pointed out that household savings are increasingly moving towards equity and mutual funds.
The share of these instruments in annual household financial savings rose from just 2 per cent in FY12 to over 15 per cent in FY25. This shift has been driven by a sharp rise in SIP investments, with average monthly contributions increasing from under Rs 4,000 crore in FY17 to more than Rs 28,000 crore in FY26 so far. IPO volumes were 20 per cent higher than last year, while funds raised increased by 10 per cent.
SME listings continued to grow, with 217 companies listed this year so far, mobilising over Rs 9,600 crore, according to Survey. The corporate bond market also recorded strong growth, expanding at an annual rate of around 12 per cent over the past decade. Outstanding corporate bond issuances reached Rs 53.6 trillion in FY25, with fresh issuances hitting a record Rs 9.9 trillion during the year.
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