Suhail Bhat
Srinagar, Oct 10 The number of investors from Jammu and Kashmir registered with the National Stock Exchange (NSE) has grown more than sevenfold in the past six years, outpacing the national average, according to the National Stock Exchange of India.
Speaking to a delegation of journalists from Jammu and Kashmir who visited the NSE headquarters in Mumbai as part of the Press Information Bureau’s (PIB) media outreach tour, Dr. Tirthankar Patnaik, Chief Economist of the National Stock Exchange of India, said that fifteen years ago Jammu and Kashmir had around 40,000 registered investors.
The number rose to 60,000 a decade ago and crossed the one lakh mark in 2019, just before the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, he said, the investor base has expanded sharply to 7.5 lakh, recording a sevenfold increase in six years compared to a fourfold rise at the national level.
Patnaik said this growth is driven by better internet connectivity, rising financial literacy, and increasing trust in formal financial systems. “Every month, around 10,000 new investors from Jammu and Kashmir are joining the stock market,” he said, adding that the region’s investor participation has grown at a much faster rate than the rest of the country.
He noted that women are also playing a significant role in this change. “Female participation in Jammu and Kashmir’s investor base stands at 25 percent, higher than the national average of 16.3 percent, indicating a steady rise in financial inclusion among women.”
He said that investor penetration has now reached almost every part of India, with only 28 PIN codes nationwide reporting no registered investors. India currently has over 12 crore investors compared to just one crore a decade ago, marking a massive increase in retail participation.
NSE Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director Ashish Kumar Chauhan said the growth in Jammu and Kashmir reflects India’s expanding financial inclusion and growing trust in capital markets. He encouraged investors to make informed decisions and avoid speculative trading.
“Stock markets make you an entrepreneur. When you invest in a company, you become part of its journey,” Chauhan said. He also cautioned investors against putting their money in cryptocurrencies, saying that crypto has no underlying value. “What you do not understand, do not invest in. Think, study, and invest wisely,” he advised.
The National Stock Exchange, which began operations in 1994, is among the top four stock exchanges globally and has remained the world’s largest derivatives exchange since 2019. Last year, it handled 82 percent of all global exchange trades, according to official data.
