The number of demat accounts in India have crossed the 10 crore mark for the first time. A demat account is similar to a bank account, but is used for holding shares and securities in an electronic format. It helps avoid handling shares physically. While it took the Bombay Stock Exchange more than 12 years to get to the first five crore investor mark, the next five crore investors joined in less than two years. About 30% of these accounts are from Maharashtra and Gujarat. However, as a share of the population, only over 7% are registered BSE investors, with double-digit penetration being seen in just four States. Interestingly, the growth in investors in the recent past has been more pronounced in other parts of India, particularly the Northeast, indicating an increasing interest in investing in stocks.
Investor count
The graph shows the number of investors registered with the BSE in crore. The graph has had a near-vertical rise after 2020.
