Zerodha founder and CEO Nithin Kamath linked India’s expanding investor base to affordable mobile data and digital services as Jio Platforms Limited opened an IPO that could raise up to ₹302.13 billion at the top of its price range.
Kamath said India had roughly 20 million unique investors in 2016 and more than 130 million by October 2026. Separately, the National Stock Exchange of India Limited (NSE) reported that its unique registered investor count passed 130 million on April 27. The exchange’s figure tracks registrations associated with unique tax identifiers; it does not show how many people are currently trading. NSE records show its own registered base passed 20 million in fiscal 2016-17.
Kamath credited affordable data from Jio and Airtel, as well as Aadhaar and UPI, with helping businesses such as Zerodha grow. The NSE also cited wider digital access, market awareness and regulatory efforts as factors behind rising registrations. Its data does not quantify Jio’s contribution, which is Kamath’s assessment.
Jio Platforms’ IPO committee approved a price range of ₹1,065 to ₹1,119 per share for up to 270 million newly issued shares. If all shares are sold at the top of the range, the offering would imply gross proceeds of ₹302.13 billion before expenses; actual proceeds depend on pricing and allotment. Jio says it plans to use net proceeds to prepay some borrowings of subsidiary Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited and for general corporate purposes. Jio would receive the proceeds, while investors who subscribe would pay for shares and bear the investment risk.
Kamath compared Zerodha with Reliance and Jio, writing, “We were, and still are, ants compared to Reliance/Jio.” He also recalled placing sixth on a 2015 Economic Times list of businesspeople to watch in 2016, behind Mukesh Ambani, who ranked first.
Jio’s subscription period is scheduled to close Friday, Oct. 23. UPI payment mandates are due by 9:30 a.m. ET (13:30 UTC) that day.
