India’s equity market has expanded at a remarkable pace since the pandemic. The number of direct investors has risen nearly fourfold, demat accounts have multiplied, and monthly SIP flows have reached levels that would have seemed improbable a decade ago. Yet for all the growth, overall participation remains strikingly limited.
According to Jefferies, just 3% of India’s population invests in equities. The comparison is instructive: the figure stands at around 18% in China and more than 60% in the United States. Even after the recent surge in retail activity, the vast majority of Indian households still keep their savings outside the equity market.
The brokerage sees this gap as one of the more durable structural features of the Indian capital market.
A younger investor base is already reshaping the landscape. Investors under the age of 30 now account for a significantly larger share of the individual investor population than they did before Covid, reflecting both greater digital access and a gradual shift in savings behaviour.
Rising incomes and the eventual transfer of wealth across generations are expected to reinforce this trend, increasing not only the number of participants but also the intensity with which they invest.