Retail investing boom masks participation gap in India’s markets: NISM Director

Retail investing boom masks participation gap in India’s markets: NISM director

India’s rapid growth in retail investment accounts masks a significant participation gap, Sashi Krishnan, Director at the National Institute of Securities Markets (NISM), said at Moneycontrol FiDEX 2026.

Demat accounts in the country have crossed 21 crore, but only about 4.5 crore accounts are actively used by traders or investors, he said.

Similarly, mutual fund folios have reached about 26.6 crore, while the number of unique investors stands at around 6 crore, or roughly 4% of India’s population.

“There is a large gap between the number of accounts and the number of people actually participating in markets,” Krishnan said.

Closing this participation gap could significantly expand India’s investment base and deepen domestic capital markets, he added.