India’s stock market is witnessing record-breaking growth, yet the Northeast is still missing out on the action. The National Stock Exchange (NSE) saw a record market capitalisation of Rs 410.87 lakh crore ($4.81 trillion) in FY 2024-25, marking a 6.9 per cent YoY growth. The retail investor base also expanded by 23 per cent, reaching 11.27 crore investors.
However, while East India saw a 26 per cent increase in investor registrations, the Northeast continues to be on the periphery of participation. Despite improving financial literacy, online growth, and focused investment awareness initiatives, Assam, Meghalaya, and Nagaland continue to be missing from leading listings on both the NSE's Mainboard and SME platforms, even as Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu collected more than Rs 84,000 crore from IPOs, which raises a critical question: Why is the Northeast missing out on India’s capital market boom?
Rise in Retail Participation Across Regions
The regional investor breakdown emphasises East India’s investor base at 1.36 crore (up 26 per cent), North India at 4.09 crore (up 26 per cent), South India at 2.33 crore (up 23 per cent), and West India at 3.41 crore (up 19 per cent). East India, with states like West Bengal, Assam, and Odisha, recorded a 26 per cent growth in registered investors, reaching 136 lakh (1.36 crore), up from 108 lakh (1.08 crore) in FY24. That is in parallel with the pace of growth that North India clocked, doubling from 324 lakh to 409 lakh investors.
Among new investor registrations, Uttar Pradesh led with 29.5 lakh registrations (14 per cent of the total), followed by Maharashtra (26.2 lakh), Gujarat (17.2 lakh), and West Bengal (14.1 lakh).
Despite this growth, the Northeastern states—Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, and others—still account for a small fraction of the investor pool. The total registrations from “Others” (including the Northeast) fell slightly from 9 lakh to 8.6 lakh, attributed to better mapping of investors to respective states.
However, Northeast India has witnessed rising retail investor activity, supported by government schemes and local stock market awareness initiatives.
IPO Frenzy and Passive Fund Boom
The rise in retail investors has driven a red-hot IPO market, with an increasing number of first-time investors entering equity markets through Initial Public Offerings. The Investor Protection Fund Trust (IPFT) corpus now stands at Rs 2,427 crore, ensuring retail investors are safeguarded amid this heightened market participation.
Passive investment has also seen a substantial jump, with the AUM of passive funds tracking Nifty indices reaching Rs 7.2 lakh crore in February 2025—a 14 per cent growth from Rs 6.3 lakh crore in March 2024. The number of passive funds tracking Nifty indices also increased from 314 to 391 during this period.
Significantly, Nifty-based passive fund investments outside India have surged, with assets under management (AUM) rising from $3.51 billion to $4.32 billion in just a year.
While markets such as Maharashtra (Rs 52,660 crore raised through 28 IPOs) and Tamil Nadu (Rs 31,663 crore raised through 3 IPOs) dominated the market, Assam could not achieve a single big IPO listing. The NSE Emerge platform, which supports small and medium enterprises, also lacked representation from the state. The government and industry bodies stress startup culture and MSME growth. A few businesses in Assam have transitioned to capital markets for expansion. Assam’s tea, tourism, handloom, and logistics sectors hold immense IPO potential but require structured mentorship and regulatory ease.
On the other hand, West Bengal secured Rs 2,174 crore from three Mainboard IPOs and Rs 536 crore from 13 SME listings, proving that even Eastern states can attract investors, which raises another pressing question: Why is Assam missing from India’s booming IPO landscape?
Retail Investors Driving Capital Market Activity
Moreover, retail trading activity in the cash market (CM) segment increased by 22.8 per cent, with 3.77 crore individual investors actively trading versus 3.07 crore in FY24. The equity derivatives segment also witnessed growth, with 1.06 crore retail traders, indicating a 10.4 per cent increase in FY25.
Also, out of these, 85 lakh investors dealt in both CM and Futures & Options (F&O), up from 77 lakh in FY24, which reflects an increase in the risk appetite of Indian traders.
Growing Influence of Passive Investment
Passive investing has picked up steam, with Assets Under Management (AUM) of passive funds following Nifty indices increasing from Rs 6.3 lakh crore in March 2024 to Rs 7.2 lakh crore in February 2025. Interestingly, equity passive AUM now accounts for ~20 per cent of the total domestic mutual fund AUM. Internationally, passive funds following Nifty indices have shown growth from $3.51 billion to $4.32 billion in AUM.
The number of passive funds tracking Nifty indices has surged to 391 from 314 in FY24, with 99 new funds launched in FY25. Internationally, 11 new funds tracking Nifty indices were introduced, taking the total to 32.
New Investors and Regional Trends: Northeast Missing from the List
A total of 2.09 crore new investors entered Indian capital markets in FY25. However, none of the top states in new investor registrations belonged to the Northeast:
* Uttar Pradesh (29.5 lakh, 14 per cent of total new investors)
* Maharashtra (26.2 lakh, 13 per cent)
* Gujarat (17.2 lakh, 8 per cent)
* West Bengal (14.1 lakh, 7 per cent)
* Rajasthan (13 lakh, 6 per cent)
Similarly, among the top districts for new investor registrations, Northeast India found no representation. Delhi-NCR led the chart (12.2 lakh, 6 per cent), followed by Mumbai (8.5 lakh, 4 per cent).
IPO Boom and Debt Market Expansion
The primary market also saw record debt listings on the NSE IX platform, with new debt securities worth $6.0 billion listed by nine issuers in FY25, reflecting a staggering 309 per cent YoY increase from $1.5 billion in FY24. Key issuers included Muthoot Finance, Adani Green Energy, and Adani Ports. Equity listings on the NSE IX are also set to grow following regulatory changes in 2024 aimed at facilitating capital raising on IFSC stock exchanges.
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GIFT Nifty and NSE IX Achievements
According to reports, the GIFT Nifty market recorded its highest-ever monthly turnover in September 2024, with 19.75 lakh contracts worth $100.7 billion. Since the launch of full-scale operations in July 2023, GIFT Nifty has recorded a total traded turnover of $1.72 trillion.
Additionally, NSE IX's total notional turnover for FY25 crossed the $1 trillion mark, standing at $1.144 trillion, a significant increase from $735 billion in FY24. The number of registered clients surged from just 316 in FY24 to 65,031 in FY25, underlining the growing importance of India's international exchange platform.
Northeast’s Growing Presence in Investment Markets
The Northeast's involvement in national investment trends will likely increase with rising financial literacy and internet penetration, driven by initiatives from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and local financial institutions. With more retail investors exploring equity markets, IPO participation from Assam and other NE states has also increased.
Although IPOs, passive funds, and equity derivatives are profitable for ordinary investors across the country, the area is still mainly underrepresented in national financial data. Northeast India's market players must rethink their capital-raising strategies.
NSE experts recommend a specific SME IPO roadmap for state-based firms, aggressive market tactics like those of Gujarat and Maharashtra, investor education campaigns to boost capital market participation, and government-backed incentives for state-based enterprises listed on the NSE.
FIRST Business Portal addressing the potential of business capability of North East Region.
