India’s ETF assets jump five times in 5 years

Mumbai

India’s Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) have grown rapidly in the past five years. A new report by Zerodha Fund House shows ETF Assets Under Management (AUM) increased more than five times from March 2020 to March 2025. By March 2025, ETFs in India had an AUM of Rs 8.38 lakh crore, which is about 13% of the Rs 65.74 lakh crore mutual fund industry. In 2020, ETFs had only a 7% share, showing their rising popularity among investors.

Retail investors have played a big part in this growth. The number of retail ETF folios jumped from around 23 lakh in March 2020 to about 2.63 crore in March 2025, an eleven-fold increase. Retail investors now hold over 97% of all ETF folios, showing higher awareness and trust in ETFs.

The retail AUM grew from Rs 5,335 crore to over Rs 17,800 crore during this period. The total number of ETF products has also nearly tripled in these five years. New options like silver-backed commodity ETFs introduced in 2022 have given investors more choices.

Equity ETFs continue to dominate, making up nearly 80% of total ETF AUM since 2020. ETF trading volumes have also seen massive growth, rising from Rs 51,101 crore in 2019-20 to Rs 3.83 lakh crore in 2024-25 — a sevenfold jump.

Zerodha CEO Vishal Jain said this marks a new era for Indian ETFs, driven by retail participation and diverse products. The sharp rise in volumes shows strong investor interest and growing market liquidity.