UP adds 22.6L new retail investors, tops India in 2025-26: NSE report

Lucknow: In a new chapter in the state’s growth story, Uttar Pradesh has added 22.6 lakh new retail investors during the 2025-26 financial year – highest among all states.The figures have been reported by the Economic Policy and Research (EPR) department of the National Stock Exchange of India.Though the pace of fresh additions was lower than the previous year, UP’s overall investor base expanded to 1.5 crore, accounting for 11.7% of India’s registered investors.This places the state second only to Maharashtra in terms of investor base, ahead of Gujarat and several other traditionally stronger market states.The report also pointed to a sharp rise in investor participation over the past decade. In FY15, Uttar Pradesh had around 12.5 lakh registered investors with a 6.9% share of the national investor base.By FY26, that number had grown more than twelve-fold, reflecting widening investor awareness and stronger participation from both urban and smaller centres.UP has also recorded a notable jump in market activity. In the cash segment, the state climbed to the third position nationally in FY26, up from seventh in FY16.Over the past decade, cash market turnover from the state has grown at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 25.3%, reflecting a sustained increase in investor participation and trading activity.Uttar Pradesh also made its presence felt in the primary market during FY26, with two mainboard IPOs raising a combined Rs 3,984 crore.Market observers said the development signals growing confidence among UP-based companies in tapping public markets for capital and reflects the state’s expanding footprint in India’s financial ecosystem.Additional chief secretary, finance, and infrastructure and industrial development commissioner Deepak Kumar said: “The numbers speak for deeper financialization of household savings, diversification beyond gold and real estate, and stronger local participation, marking UP as India’s fastest-rising retail investing hub. They are closely linked to stable law and order situation, the state’s rapid economic progress, including the doubling of per capita income, expanding industrial and manufacturing activity, and deeper financial inclusion through initiatives like Jan Dhan Yojana, and integration of UPI, that has brought more households into the formal financial system.”Financial expert Ankit Tewari said the numbers point to a broader transformation in the state’s financial landscape.“These numbers tell us four things: more households are investing, more savings are entering formal financial channels, investor participation is becoming deeper and more active, and an increasing number of businesses are accessing capital markets for growth,” he said.Adding that together, they indicate that UP’s relationship with the financial sector is changing fundamentally, he said: “The challenge now is to move from creating investors to creating wealth. As incomes rise, cities expand and financial penetration deepens, the state has an opportunity to become one of India’s most important centres of capital formation over the next decade.”Awanish Awasthi, advisor to the chief minister, said, “Taken together, these figures point to a deepening of UP’s financial ecosystem. The state’s growth story is no longer defined only by agriculture, manufacturing, infrastructure or public expenditure. We are seeing more households participating in capital markets, more savings moving into formal financial instruments and more companies accessing capital through public markets. UP is increasingly emerging not just as a market for goods and services, but also as a market for capital.”Calling the findings a “significant milestone” in Uttar Pradesh’s economic transformation, RK Mishra, member of the UP Chief Minister’s Economic Advisory Group, said the trend reflected rising household incomes, growing financial literacy and increasing confidence among citizens in participating in India’s growth story through capital markets.“The report places Uttar Pradesh among the leading states in investor additions and cash market activity. This demonstrates that economic development is becoming more broad-based and inclusive. A larger retail investor base also signifies the maturity of India’s equity markets, as savings increasingly move from traditional assets to productive investments. This expanding investible surplus will play an important role in financing India’s long-term economic growth and wealth creation,” he said.KV Raju, former economic advisor, Uttar Pradesh, who is currently serving as a member of NITI Aayog, credited efforts made by the state govt over the past few years for this.“The structural transformation and quick decision-making process that has taken shape in UP over the past few years is the force behind state’s faster and wider growth. The improved policy framework and consultations with the stakeholders and supporting the officers at all levels has enabled good progress both at the state and district level,” he said.General manager, Union Bank of India, Rajesh Kumar said, “The surge in investor participation reflects the combined impact of better financial literacy, widespread digital access and rising aspirations.”