India’s registered investor base has expanded dramatically over the past seven years, rising from 2.75 crore in FY19 to 13.37 crore in July 2026, according to the NSE’s latest Market Pulse report. The growth reflects increasing participation in equities beyond the country’s traditional investment centres in western India.
North India Drives Broader Market Participation
Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, West Bengal and Rajasthan accounted for 47.6% of India’s registered investors in July, compared with 52.8% in FY19.
Maharashtra remained the largest market, with 2.07 crore investors, representing 15.5% of the national total. Uttar Pradesh followed with 1.59 crore investors, while Gujarat had 1.13 crore.
However, Maharashtra’s share has fallen from 19.4% in FY19 to 15.5%, while Gujarat’s declined from 12.5% to 8.5%. Uttar Pradesh has recorded the opposite trend, with its share rising from 7.2% to 11.9%.
North India has emerged as the fastest-growing region. It had 4.93 crore registered investors, or 36.9% of the national total, in July. Its investor base has expanded 6.4 times since FY19, compared with fourfold growth in western India.
Uttar Pradesh Leads New Investor Additions
Investor onboarding also strengthened in July, with 13.3 lakh new registrations, 14.1% higher than in June. However, the figure was still 12.1% below July 2025.
Uttar Pradesh contributed the highest number of new investors at 1.9 lakh, followed by Maharashtra with 1.4 lakh and Gujarat with 1.2 lakh. Tamil Nadu added 90,000 investors, while West Bengal recorded 80,000.
North India accounted for nearly 39.8% of July’s new registrations, adding 5.3 lakh investors. West India contributed 3.3 lakh, South India 3.1 lakh and East India 1.6 lakh.
North India has also contributed around 41% of the 46.1 lakh investors added during FY27 so far, highlighting the region’s growing importance in India’s retail investment landscape.
