Jammu and Kashmir’s registered investor base in the stock market has crossed the 14-lakh mark, with the number of registered clients reaching 14,12,378 as of August 20, 2026, recording a year-on-year growth of 19.31 per cent, according to official BSE data accessed by Greater Kashmir.
The figures show that J&K added 2,28,554 registered clients, or roughly 2.29 lakh investors, during the past year. This represents a substantially faster expansion than the overall growth in the country’s registered investor base, which stood at 15.80 per cent during the same period.
The BSE data provides a snapshot of the changing geography of stock-market participation in India, with the country’s total registered investor base now standing at 26,03,00,179, or approximately 26.03 crore clients.
J&K’s 14.12 lakh registered clients account for around 0.54 per cent of the country’s total registered investor base. While the Union Territory remains a relatively small market in terms of absolute investor numbers, the pace at which its investor base is expanding has been considerably stronger than several of the country’s largest States.
The increase has also been consistent across different time periods. During the latest month, J&K added 19,478 clients, equivalent to around 19,500 new registered investors, pushing its monthly growth rate to 1.40 per cent. Over the previous three months, the number of registered clients increased by 52,618, or about 52,600 investors, representing a quarterly growth of 3.87 per cent.
The national investor base, by comparison, increased by around 30.92 lakh during the latest month. Over the previous quarter, the country added approximately 85.16 lakh. Over the previous year, the national registered investor base increased by around 3.55 crore investors, taking the total to more than 26 crore.
The comparison shows that J&K’s investor base is growing at a faster rate than the national average, although the absolute numbers remain much smaller.
Maharashtra continues to have the largest registered investor base in the country by a considerable margin. The State has approximately 4.42 crore investors. This means that nearly one out of every six registered clients in the BSE database is registered in Maharashtra.
Uttar Pradesh occupies the second position with 3,06,10,880 clients, or around 3.06 crore. Gujarat follows with 2,29,70,136, equivalent to about 2.30 crore registered clients.
Rajasthan has 1,56,49,037, or around 1.56 crore, while West Bengal has 1,52,56,657, or about 1.53 crore.
Karnataka has 1,39,43,659 registered clients, translating into roughly 1.39 crore, while Madhya Pradesh has 1,35,11,046, or around 1.35 crore. Tamil Nadu has 1,31,27,709, or approximately 1.31 crore registered investors.
The other major States also have sizeable investor bases. Haryana has 85,72,167 registered clients, equivalent to around 85.7 lakh. Telangana has 80,08,260, or about 80.1 lakh. Punjab has 65,65,556, or approximately 65.7 lakh, while Odisha has 59,30,947, or about 59.3 lakh.
Kerala has 59,17,495 registered clients, translating into around 59.2 lakh, while Assam has 53,02,132, or about 53 lakh. Jharkhand has 46,39,195, equivalent to approximately 46.4 lakh.
Andhra Pradesh has crossed the one-crore mark, with 1,04,00,527 registered clients, while Bihar has 1,16,04,608, or around 1.16 crore. Delhi has 1,10,14,984, equivalent to approximately 1.10 crore registered clients.
Against this national landscape, J&K’s 14.12 lakh investor base is larger than that of several smaller States and Union Territories but remains far below the investor populations of the country’s principal financial and industrial centres.
For instance, Himachal Pradesh has around 15.58 lakh registered clients, only marginally above J&K. J&K has more registered clients than Manipur, which has around 2.74 lakh, Meghalaya with 1.65 lakh, Arunachal Pradesh with 1.22 lakh, Nagaland with 1.28 lakh, Sikkim with 84,221, Mizoram with 59,779, Goa with 4.99 lakh and Tripura with 4.28 lakh.
Among the Union Territories, Ladakh has 5,213 registered clients, or just over 5,000, but has recorded one of the fastest rates of growth in the country. Its investor base increased by 44.44 per cent over the previous year. This is the highest annual growth rate visible in the BSE table.
Mizoram recorded annual growth of 33.18 per cent, while Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh recorded 28.01 per cent and 27.33 per cent, respectively. Lakshadweep, with just over 5,000 registered clients, recorded growth of 27.87 per cent.
Among larger States, J&K’s 19.31 per cent annual growth puts it in a relatively strong position. Andhra Pradesh and Telangana each recorded 19.59 per cent growth, while Tamil Nadu recorded 19.46 per cent growth. Uttar Pradesh recorded 19.08 per cent.
J&K’s growth was considerably higher than Maharashtra’s 11.39 per cent, Gujarat’s 13.13 per cent, Haryana’s 14.42 per cent, Punjab’s 14.96 per cent, Rajasthan’s 15.71 per cent, Karnataka’s 16.51 per cent and Kerala’s 16.95 per cent.
The figures also indicate that the expansion in J&K has been relatively steady rather than being confined to a single period. Its monthly increase of 1.40 per cent was higher than the national monthly growth of 1.20 per cent, while its quarterly increase of 3.87 per cent was also above the national growth rate of 3.38 per cent.
In absolute terms, however, the difference between the largest and smallest investor markets remains enormous. Maharashtra’s 4.42 crore registered clients are more than 31 times J&K’s 14.12 lakh. Uttar Pradesh’s 3.06 crore investor base is more than 21 times that of J&K, while Gujarat’s 2.30 crore is more than 16 times larger.
The national figures also underline the rapid broadening of participation in the equity market. The BSE database now contains more than 26 crore registered clients, with the number having increased by around 3.55 crore in just one year.
J&K’s addition of around 2.29 lakh registered clients during the same period is small when measured against the national increase, but significant for the Union Territory’s own investor base. In percentage terms, the addition represents nearly one-fifth growth in a single year.
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