The National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) announced that it has crossed a significant milestone, with the total number of unique client codes (UCCs), or trading accounts, surpassing the 25 crore-mark (or 250 million) in February 2026 so far. The country's largest stock exchange, in a press release dated Feb. 12, said the most recent one crore trading accounts were added in just two months, signalling the onboarding momentum among investors and the pace of market participation.
The last five crore accounts, nearly 20% of the total base, were added in the past 16 months alone, according to NSE. As of Jan. 31, 2026, the number of unique registered investors stood at 12.7 crore, after crossing the 12-crore mark on Sept. 22, 2025. Since investors are allowed to open accounts with multiple brokers, NSE highlighted that the number of trading accounts exceeds the count of unique investors.
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Maharashtra continues to top the charts in investor participation, with 4.2 crore accounts, accounting for nearly 17% of the total. Uttar Pradesh follows with 2.8 crore accounts (11.3% share), while Gujarat has around 2.2 crore accounts (8.7%). West Bengal and Rajasthan have 1.4 crore accounts each, contributing 5.8% share apiece. The top five states together account for nearly 49% of all investor accounts, while the top 10 states contribute over 73%, according to NSE data.
Five-year trend: Growth of direct and indirect investment
NSE attributed the sharp expansion of the investor base to rapid digitization, the fintech revolution, the emergence of low-cost trading platforms, growing middle class and the rising investor confidence. According to stock exchange data, over the five-year period ending Feb 11, 2026, the Nifty 50 and Nifty 500 indices have delivered annualised returns of 11.3% and 13.7% respectively, reflecting sustained participation in equities as an asset class.
The stock exchange also said that indirect participation has strengthened alongside direct investment. Between April 2025 and January 2026, nearly six crore new SIP accounts were opened. Average monthly SIP inflows during the period stood at Rs 28,766 crore, up from Rs 23,743 crore in the corresponding period last year, reflecting the growing preference for disciplined, long-term investing. As of Dec. 31, 2025, individual investors-both direct participants and those investing through mutual funds-hold 18.6% of market cap of NSE-listed companies, up from 14.6% five years ago.
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''The speed at which the most recent accounts have been added reflects growing confidence among households and a broader acceptance of equities as a long-term savings avenue. Participation is expanding not only in scale, but also in geographic reach and demographic diversity. Today, investors can participate across a wide range of asset classes-including equities, debt instruments, ETFs, REITs, InvITs, government securities and corporate bonds-highlighting a technology-enabled and inclusive market ecosystem,'' said Sriram Krishnan, Chief Business Development Officer, NSE.
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