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BUSINESS & TRADE APRIL 25, 2025 | The Indian Eye 34

STOCK MARKETS

FM urges investors to be informed and patient

as Govt focusses on long-term wealth creation

In 2024-25, capitalization of India’s stock markets crossed the USD 5 trillion mark for

the first time, making India the fifth-largest capital market globally

OUR BUREAU tions and informed risk-taking,” she
supplemented.
Mumbai
She also briefly spoke about the
inance Minister Nirmala Sitha- growth in Indian financial markets.
raman’s address at the 150-year Through reforms such as De-materi-
Fcelebrations of BSE had a mes- alization, T+1 settlement, direct mar-
sage for all stakeholders of the finan- ket access, and mutual fund penetra-
cial markets, including the largest of tion, Sitharaman stated that India has
all - the investors. Finance Minister established one of the most robust
Sitharaman, in particular, urged in- market infrastructures in the world.
vestors to remain informed, patient, In 2024-25, capitalization of In-
and confident in the long-term prom- dia’s stock markets crossed the USD
ise of disciplined wealth creation. 5 trillion mark for the first time, mak-
To the market intermediaries ing India the fifth-largest capital mar-
and exchanges, she called for inno- ket globally.
vation with purpose, but investor in- Over the years, the number of
terest should always be at the center. companies with a stock market capi-
“To our corporates -- let transparency, talization of over Rs 1 lakh crore has
sound governance, and commitment increased steadily, rising from 1 in
to shareholder value be your guiding 2000 to 30 just before the pandemic,
principles. To our regulators -- re- and then rising sharply to 81 today.
main proactive, agile, and responsive Domestic institutional investors
in a world defined by rapid change,” (DIIs) have played an increasingly
the finance minister said. central role.
Addressing the BSE event, she In the last financial year, DIIs
opined that to truly democratize in- Nirmala Sitharaman suggested that Investor Awareness Programs (IAPs) in regional languag- recorded total inflows of Rs 6.1 lakh
vestment, stock exchanges must con- es should be conducted across urban and rural areas (File photo) crore, far outpacing the Rs 1.3 lakh
tinually innovate and design products crore net outflows from FPIs. “This
that are accessible, understandable, creasing retail participation, she said. exchanges, she noted that they serve transition of DIIs from a supportive
and aligned with the risk appetite She suggested that Investor as more than just trading platforms, to a dominant force underlines the
and savings behavior of our citizens. Awareness Programs (IAPs) in re- as they are a crucial part of the capi- growing maturity and depth of In-
She told the exchange officials gional languages should be conduct- tal markets. dia’s capital markets,” she noted.
that the goal must be to make cap- ed across urban and rural areas, with “As first-line regulators, the stock The median age of Indian inves-
ital markets inclusive and rewarding a focus on students, senior citizens, exchanges carry a profound responsi- tors is 32 years, with over 40 per cent
for all strata of society. Investor ed- women, rural investors, and first- bility. At the same time, they need to of them under the age of 30. Addi-
ucation increasingly becomes vital time traders. balance the cost of compliance with tionally, one in four investors today is
in a rapidly growing market with in- Speaking about the role of stock such regulations and enable innova- a woman, she informed the gathering.

Despite fluctuations more Indian investors joined market in February

espite the recent decline seen by Indi- codes registered with the exchange stood at 21.9 number of registered investors at 4.1 crore, fol-
an stock markets in tune with the global crore (219 million), reflecting all client registrations lowed by West India with 3.4 crore, South India
Dtrends, the number of registered investors to date, as investors can register with multiple trad- with 2.3 crore, and East India with 1.3 crore.
has continued to grow. According to a report by the ing members,” the report said. In the last one year, North and East India
National Stock Exchange (NSE), the total num- This rise in participation reflects strong growth saw the highest growth, with increases of 27.7 per
ber of registered investors crossed 11.2 crore by in investor interest over the past year. The inves- cent and 27.3 per cent respectively. South India
the end of February 2025. This includes 11.3 lakh tor base crossed nine crore in February 2024 and registered a 23.7 per cent rise, while West India
new investors who joined during the month alone. reached 10 crore just five months later in August grew by 20.1 per cent.
“The registered investor base stood at 11.2 2024. By January 20, 2025, it had already crossed Looking at changes over the past five years,
crore in Feb’25, with 11.3 lakh new investors add- the 11-crore mark. North India’s share of the total investor base has
ed during the month. The total number of client In terms of regions, North India had the highest grown significantly--from 28.7 per cent in 2020 to
36.3 per cent in February 2025, a rise of 7.5 per-
centage points.
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