BHUBANESWAR: The surge in stock market participation has witnessed a boom in Odisha, with the latest data showing a steady rise in both male and female demat account holders.
According to the figures from the ‘Women and Men in India’ report, released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Odisha now has 40.07 lakh demat accounts, up from 27.31 lakh in 2024. The growth has been steady and, in the post-pandemic period, the state’s investor base has risen nearly seven-fold since 2021, when total accounts stood at just 5.7 lakh.
Though men continue to dominate ownership, the number of women demat account holders has seen an impressive rise, reflecting their growing role as investors. The report shows that male account holders increased from 23.30 lakh in 2024 to 33.49 lakh in 2025, while female account holders rose from 4.01 lakh to 6.58 lakh over the same period. In absolute terms, men added over 10 lakh accounts, compared to an increase of about 2.5 lakh among women.
However, a closer look reveals that women have steadily gained ground. Between 2021 and 2025, the number of female investors in Odisha has jumped more than eight-fold, compared to about a seven-fold increase among men.
In 2021, the total number of women demat accounts with CDSL was 77,924, out of a total of 5.70 lakh. This rose to 6.58 lakh by October 2025. Women accounted for 13.7 per cent of investors in 2021, rising to 14.7 per cent in 2024, and further to 16.4 per cent in 2025.
The expansion is being driven by growing financial awareness, increased digital access and the spread of mobile trading platforms beyond metro cities. Smaller urban centres and semi-rural areas in Odisha are playing a key role in this shift, bringing first-time investors into the market, said an analyst.
However, the data also showed that women still represent less than a fifth of total investors in the state. The gap between male and female account holders in terms of number has grown, from about 4 lakh in 2021 to nearly 27 lakh in 2025. The trend also aligns with India’s story of rapid expansion with steady inclusion.