The number of retail investors in the National Stock Exchange (NSE) is increasing significantly due to the anticipation of the much-awaited initial public offering (IPO). The exchange’s public shareholder base has increased to 1.57 lakh as of June 2025, a four-fold increase since the end of March. Retail investors are at the forefront of this race. A person with a share capital of up to Rs 2 lakh is considered a retail investor. Their number was about 34,000 in March, which has increased to 1.46 lakh by June. In this way, their collective share in the country’s largest exchange increased from 9.89 per cent to 11.81 per cent.

The surge is due to a significant operational change: On March 24, the NSE’s International Securities Identification Number – a global code – streamlined the share transfer process, reducing transaction times from months to just a few days. Market participants confirmed that shares can now be transferred freely. There is good volume of trading both buyers – sellers. Due to the increase in demand, the price of unlisted shares on the NSE has increased to Rs 2,225 per share, valuing the exchange at around Rs 5.5 lakh crore. This is much higher than at the beginning of the current financial year.

Economists said that this growth reflects the growing confidence of retail in the exchange, which is an opportunity for them to create wealth. We are seeing some long-term wealthy investors (HNIs) reducing their stakes. Retail ownership has increased. But the share of individual public shareholders with share capital of more than Rs. 2 lakh has slightly decreased to 9.52 percent (9.64 percent).