A revised methodology adopted by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) for calculating household savings through securities markets has raised India’s gross savings-to-GDP ratio for FY25 to 34.94%, up from the previous estimate of 34.47%. According to a SEBI research paper prepared in consultation with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, household savings in securities markets totaled ₹6.91 lakh crore in FY25, compared to ₹5.43 lakh crore under the earlier methodology.
The SEBI paper, authored by officials from the regulator’s Department of Economic and Policy Analysis (DEPA), highlighted that the earlier approach relied partly on estimates and failed to fully capture investments through secondary markets, preferential allotments, private debt placements, Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs), Infrastructure Investment Trusts (InvITs), and other market-linked instruments.
The revised methodology reveals that the household savings-to-GDP ratio for FY25 is now 21.7%, compared to 21.23% previously estimated. Additionally, net household financial savings improved to 7.10% of GDP, up from 6.63%.
Transaction-level data sourced from stock exchanges, depositories, and the Association of Mutual Funds in India underpins the new framework, offering a more comprehensive estimate of household financial savings. Previously, estimates indicated that 35% of public and rights equity issuances and 40% of public corporate debt issuances were generally viewed as household savings, while secondary market investments and several newer instruments were excluded from these calculations.
The SEBI paper suggested that rising retail participation in financial markets, particularly following the pandemic, necessitated this revision. In FY25, households were net sellers of direct equity, offloading ₹54,786 crore, compared to ₹69,329 crore the previous year, even as they significantly increased mutual fund purchases. Jimeet Modi, Founder and CEO of SAMCO Group, commented, “This is maturation. The Indian retail investor is booking gains on direct stockholdings and outsourcing fresh allocation to professional vehicles.”
Of the ₹6.91 lakh crore that households invested in securities markets in FY25, approximately four-fifths were routed through mutual funds. Primary market flows accounted for ₹6.32 lakh crore of the total, primarily driven by mutual fund investments totaling ₹5.13 lakh crore. Overall, household savings through securities markets surged from ₹2.6 lakh crore in FY23 to ₹6.9 lakh crore in FY25.
The paper emphasized that “actual data provides superior value and factual picture,” asserting that the revised methodology more effectively captures the ongoing shift in household savings from physical assets such as gold and real estate toward financial instruments.
Published on May 20, 2026.
