India’s capital markets have seen a significant rise in retail investor involvement, with the addition of 235 lakh new demat accounts during FY26 until December 2025, as per the Economic Survey 2025-26 presented in Parliament. This milestone signifies an increasing financial awareness and confidence among households, amidst global trade uncertainties and geopolitical tensions impacting markets globally.
Despite fluctuating foreign investment flows, India’s equity markets displayed steady yet resilient performance from April to December 2025. The Nifty saw an approximately 11.1% increase, while the Sensex rose by nearly 10.1% during the same period, supported by robust domestic investor engagement, improving corporate earnings, and favorable policy measures like tax relief and accommodative monetary policies.
A notable highlight of the year was the surpassing of 12 crore unique demat investors in September 2025, with almost a quarter of them being women. The expanding investor base also reached beyond metropolitan areas, with the mutual fund industry registering 5.9 crore unique investors by December 2025, out of which 3.5 crore hailed from non-tier I and tier II cities.
The Economic Survey highlighted a trend of household savings increasingly flowing into equity and mutual funds. The proportion of these investments in annual household financial savings escalated from a mere 2% in FY12 to over 15% in FY25. This shift has been primarily fueled by a significant surge in SIP investments, with average monthly contributions rising from under Rs 4,000 crore in FY17 to over Rs 28,000 crore in FY26 so far.
IPO volumes witnessed a 20% increase compared to the previous year, with funds raised growing by 10%. SME listings continued to expand, with 217 companies listed this year, raising over Rs 9,600 crore, as per the Survey findings. Moreover, the corporate bond market demonstrated robust growth, expanding at an annual rate of around 12% over the last decade. Outstanding corporate bond issuances in FY25 reached Rs 53.6 trillion, with fresh issuances hitting a record Rs 9.9 trillion during the year.
