Total live demat accounts in NSDL and CDSL hit a record 21 crore, fuelled by buoyant markets and one of the busiest IPO months, where 33 companies raised ₹39,140 crore | Photo Credit:
The number of demat accounts opened in October was up 22 per cent to over 30 lakh, compared with 24.6 lakh in September, according to NSDL and CDSL data.
The overall live demat accounts in both depositories increased to a record high of 21 crore last month, up from 20.7 crore registered a month earlier.
Busy season
It was one of the busiest IPO markets in October with a total of 33 corporates raising a whopping ₹39,140 crore last month, both on the main board and the SME platform.
The fundraising was largely led by LG Electronics and Tata Capital, which mopped up ₹11,600 crore and ₹15,511 crore last month. The other large public issues last month were WeWork India (₹3,000 crore), Canara HSBC Life Insurance (₹2,517 crore), Orkla India (₹1,668 crore), Rubicon Research (₹1,378 crore) and Canara Robeco Asset Management (₹1,326 crore).
After prolonged, lacklustre performance, the bellwether equity market indices, Sensex and Nifty, gained nearly 3 per cent in October, while the BSE MidCap and SmallCap indices advanced 4 per cent and 3 per cent, respectively.
Puneet Singhania, Director, Master Trust Group, said the renewed rise in demat account openings was being driven by a mix of strong domestic liquidity and a shift in retail behaviour.
Market momentum
Even though mutual fund SIP inflows have remained steady, the uptick in demat additions shows that more investors are coming towards direct participation in equities rather than limiting themselves to managed products, he added.
Historically, retail players often enter during peak and rising markets, and the current trend is similar, with headline indices hovering near all-time highs and IPO activity remaining vibrant.
Retail participation is increasing at a time when markets are trading at somewhat elevated valuations, but the actual risk profile for new investors is more balanced for Indian equities, he added.
Krishna Patwari, Founder and Managing Director of Wealth Wisdom India, said the main reason for the surge in the recent wave of demat account openings was that investors were opening multiple accounts across online platforms.
However, NSE has highlighted that the top 25 brokers collectively lost around 57,000 accounts, with total active accounts declining to 4.52 crore in October, he said as a word of caution.
Published on November 19, 2025
