How to Learn the Share Market From Scratch: A 90-Day Plan

Short answer: To learn the share market from scratch, study in this order: (1) how the market works, (2) how to use a demat and trading account, (3) basics of reading a company's financials, (4) basics of reading charts, and (5) risk management. Give it about 90 days of steady study before you invest meaningful money.

Step 1: Understand the system (week 1 to 2)

• Shares are part-ownership of a company.
• NSE and BSE are the exchanges where shares trade.
• SEBI regulates the market.
• Brokers place your orders; depositories (NSDL, CDSL) hold your shares in a demat account.
• Nifty 50 and Sensex are indices that track large companies.

Step 2: Open and understand your accounts (week 2 to 3)

You need a demat account, a trading account and a linked bank account. Any SEBI-registered broker can open them online with PAN and Aadhaar. Learn order types (market, limit, stop-loss), settlement (T+1) and charges (brokerage, STT, stamp duty, GST) before you place a trade.

Step 3: Learn fundamental basics (week 3 to 6)

Fundamental analysis asks: is this a good business at a fair price?

Term	What it tells you
Revenue and profit growth	Is the business growing?
P/E ratio	How much you pay per rupee of profit
ROE	How well management uses shareholders' money
Debt-to-equity	How much borrowing the company carries

Read one annual report fully. It teaches more than fifty tip videos.

Step 4: Learn chart basics (week 6 to 9)

Technical analysis studies price and volume. Start with candlestick charts, trend, and support and resistance. Practise on historical charts.

Step 5: Learn risk management (week 9 to 12)

• Never invest money you will need within three years.
• Diversify; do not put everything in one stock.
• If you trade, risk a small fixed percentage per trade.
• Know the data: SEBI found about 7 in 10 individual intraday traders in the cash segment lost money in FY 2022-23, and about 9 in 10 individual F&O traders lost money over FY22 to FY24.

Decide early whether you want to be an investor or a trader. See investing vs trading.

Common beginner mistakes

1. Buying on tips from Telegram or WhatsApp groups.
2. Starting with F&O because it "needs less capital".
3. Averaging down on a falling stock without a reason.
4. Checking prices all day and confusing activity with progress.

Free vs paid learning

Free resources such as exchange investor-education pages and broker learning portals are good. A paid course is worth it only if you want a fixed curriculum, live doubt-solving and assessments. Our Stock Market Course for Beginners follows the five steps above in 4 weeks.

FAQs

How much money do I need to start in the share market?

There is no minimum. You can buy a single share. Start small while you learn.

Can I learn the share market in one month?

You can learn the basics in a month. Becoming a confident, disciplined investor takes several months of practice.

Is the share market gambling?

Not if you study businesses, diversify and manage risk. Trading on tips with borrowed money, however, behaves a lot like gambling.