NSE investor base crosses 13 crore as Uttar Pradesh leads new registrations; Bihar and Northeast emerge as fastest-growing markets

India’s retail investing boom is increasingly being driven by regions outside its traditional market centres, according to the National Stock Exchange’s (NSE) June 2026 Market Pulse report, which shows the country’s registered investor base crossing 13 crore while newer geographies account for a growing share of additions.

NSE’s registered investor base stood at 13.1 crore as of May 2026, with the exchange noting that the journey from 12 crore to 13 crore investors took just seven months. Between FY21 and FY26, the overall investor base expanded at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 25.3%, significantly faster than the 16.3% CAGR recorded in the preceding five-year period.

Additionally, the exchange also noted that new investor additions have declined in six of the past 12 months due to multiple reasons with capital market uncertainty being one of them.  Yet, in the past five years between FY21-FY26, the overall investor base grew at a 25.3% CAGR, much faster than 16.3% CAGR in the previous period (FY16-21).

While Maharashtra continues to remain India’s largest investing state with 2.04 crore investors, accounting for 15.6% of the total investor base, its dominance is gradually reducing as participation widens across the country. Uttar Pradesh has emerged as the second-largest investor market with 1.55 crore investors and an 11.8% share, followed by Gujarat with 1.11 crore investors and an 8.5% share. Together, the three states account for roughly 36% of all registered investors.

Beyond the metros

The report highlights a notable shift in where new investors are coming from. Uttar Pradesh led investor additions in May 2026, accounting for 16.1% of all new registrations, followed by Maharashtra, West Bengal, Bihar and Tamil Nadu. The top five states together contributed 46.4% of new investor additions during the month.

More significantly, NSE said states outside the top 10 now account for 27% of the investor base, up by around five percentage points since FY17, indicating a steady broadening of capital market participation beyond established financial centres.

Among larger states, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh have recorded some of the fastest growth since FY17, with Bihar’s investor base expanding nearly 16-fold and Uttar Pradesh growing more than tenfold. The report also points to rapid growth in smaller northeastern states, with Mizoram’s investor base growing 27.3 times, Arunachal Pradesh 23.8 times and Assam 20.3 times over the same period.

“The rapid pace of growth of the investor base…reiterates the impact of the efforts of regulators and market infrastructure institutions on capital market penetration, especially in suburban and non-metropolitan regions,” the report read.

At a regional level, North India has emerged as the largest contributor to NSE’s investor base, accounting for 4.82 crore investors or 36.7% of total registrations. It overtook western India in 2022 and has continued to strengthen its lead, driven largely by growth in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.