Demat Accounts Grow 200% In Last Five Years, Expense On Investor Awareness Declines

In a set of statistics that reflect the growing participation of investors in the Indian stock market, the Finance Ministry on Tuesday said the number of total unique demat account holders reached 11.82 crore in October 2024.

The number marks a 200% jump as compared to 3.88 crore unique demat account holders in fiscal 2020. In fiscal 2021, 2022 and 2023, the cumulative count of demat account holders stood at 5.93 crore, 7.69 crore and 9.54 crore, respectively.

Maharashtra topped the list, with a total of 2.03 crore demat account holders as of last month, followed by 1.33 crore in Uttar Pradesh and 1.03 crore in Gujarat. The lowest count was recorded in the Union Territories of Lakshadweep at 2,129, and Ladakh at 9,837.

The data was shared by Pankaj Chaudhary, the Union minister of state for finance, in response to a query raised in the Lok Sabha.

The expense incurred on investor awareness declined from Rs 11.84 crore in fiscal 2020 to Rs 2.78 crore in fiscal 2024, according to the data shared in the Parliament.

In fiscal 2021, the expense had peaked to Rs 28.84 crore, but declined to Rs 6.81 crore in fiscal 2022. In the following year, it rose to Rs 11.93 crore.

The expenses have been carried out through the Investor Protection and Education Fund, which is managed by the Securities and Exchange Board of India, Chaudhry said.

Although the expense has declined, the number of investor awareness and education programs have nearly doubled from 23,670 in fiscal 2020 to 43,826 in the first half of fiscal 2025.

However, these awareness programs have not been conducted by SEBI alone, but also by various other market intermediary institutions.

"Further, Association of Mutual Funds in India, along with respective Asset Management Companies, also conduct investor education and awareness programs," the minister stated.

These programs were for all investors, including beginners and cover various topics such as basic investing principles, product features, risks involved, investor rights and responsibilities, common features of investment scams etc., Chaudhary said. They were conducted free of cost in various regional languages besides Hindi and English, he added.