India’s equity markets have witnessed an unprecedented transformation over the past decade, with the number of unique investors on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) rising sharply from 1.6 crore in 2014 to 12 crore in 2025, NSE CEO Ashish Chauhan said at CNBC-TV18’s Global Leadership Summit 2025.

“When Mr. Modi took over on that day, we had 1.6 crore unique investors. Today, after 11 years, we have 12 crore unique investors," Chauhan said, describing the growth as “a miracle" in India’s financial evolution. Nearly half of these new investors joined in the past five years, largely fueled by the introduction of digital KYC during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“During COVID, SEBI allowed KYC to be done digitally. That enabled many brokers to reach every corner of the country," he said, noting that

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