India now has 22.5 crore demat accounts.
Sounds like a massive win for retail investing, right?
But the deeper story is more interesting:
The important part is understanding why new demat account additions dropped by 22% in FY26, why only around 33% of accounts are active, and what this says about investor behaviour after IPO hype, weak market returns, and tighter F&O rules.
It is:
Are Indian investors becoming long-term market participants, or are many accounts just sitting unused after IPO hype, market corrections, and F&O rule changes?
We broke down the full trend, year-wise demat account growth, why FY26 slowed down, how SIP growth connects to this shift, BSDA charges, dormant account risks, and common mistakes first-time investors should avoid.
Only around 33% of demat accounts are actually active. New account additions also dropped by 22% in FY26, the steepest slowdown in six years.
So the real question is not just "How many Indians opened demat accounts?
That’s where this data-backed analysis of demat account growth in India becomes useful.
Check it out.