Unveiling the True Heroes of Indian Stock Market: A Comparative Analysis of FIIs vs DIIs

Join CA Rachana Ranade as she digs into the fascinating world of Indian stocks, FIIs, DIIs, and retail investors, exploring who the true heroes are behind India's market growth.

Here are 22 clean bullet points summarizing the video:
CA Rachana Ranade welcomes viewers to her video on whether FIIs or DIIs are the true heroes of the Indian stock market.
She explains that domestic institutional investors (DIIs) are institutional investors like mutual funds, insurance companies, and pension funds, all based in India.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs), on the other hand, are located outside India and include international investors.
Rachana notes that many people believe FIIs are the true heroes because when they sell, the market falls, and when they buy, the market rises. However, she suggests this may not be entirely accurate.
She presents data showing that in July 2025, FIIs sold ₹47,000 crore, causing a 3% decline in Nifty; in February 2025, FIIs sold ₹59,000 crore, resulting in a 6% decline; and in October 2024, FIIs sol
Conversely, when FIIs buy, the market tends to rise. Rachana provides examples of four months where FIIs were net buyers, resulting in market gains ranging from 1.6% to 5.5%.
However, she notes that this analysis is limited to monthly data and that long-term investors consider larger time frames.
When looking at FII activity on a year-on-year basis, Rachana finds that FIIs have been selling on net terms for most years since the post-covid era (2021-2024).
Despite this selling, she notes that Indian markets have consistently provided positive returns over the past 10 years (2016-2025), with some exceptions.
This raises questions about who is buying and absorbing the selling by FIIs. Rachana suggests that DIIs are the ones buying and acting as a shield to absorb FII selling.
She also discusses Har Ghar Investor, an event happening on September 14th at Ahmed Nagar, which will cover topics like AI in investing, her target for Nifty, and personal finance concepts.
The event will be conducted in Marathi, but viewers are encouraged to register using the link provided.
Rachana emphasizes that DIIs have been buying aggressively, with net buy figures of ₹40,000 crore in 2019, ₹487,000 crore in 2025, and ₹527,000 crore in 2024.
She notes that this buying is largely driven by retail individual investors (RIIs) through systematic investment plans (SIPs), which account for around 50% of DII investments.
Rachana argues that RIIs are the true heroes behind DIIs, driving market returns through their SIP contributions.
She also addresses the notion that DIIs are forced to buy because they can't keep cash with them, suggesting instead that RIIs are the trigger behind DII buying.
Rachana emphasizes the importance of retail individual investors in driving Indian markets forward, citing India's growth potential and its position as the fourth-largest economy in the world.
She concludes by highlighting the role of RIIs in fueling market returns and encouraging viewers to share their thoughts on the topic.

Source: CA Rachana Phadke Ranade via YouTube

❓ What do you think? What is the true driving force behind India's stock market's consistent positive returns, despite Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) consistently selling? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments!