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Register with the stockbroker with your PAN number. You will need to open a demat account and also provide the bank account number to which your stockbroking account will be linked. Remember, initially invest only that amount which you can afford to ignore for a few months or years. Since the market and the economy are volatile, your income from the stock market may fluctuate.

You can choose to do online trading directly on the websites of your stockbrokers or trade over the phone. Every time you make a transaction, the stockbroker charges you a percentage and that's where it makes an earning. These charges vary from stockbroker to stockbroker and you need to take your pick. Generally, you will be assigned a relationship manager who will provide advice on which shares to buy or sell. However, you are the one who has to take the final call on what to buy or sell and the responsibility of your profits/losses does not rest with your stockbroker.

Start with small capital sums. Say, you invest Rs 3,000 initially and over a month make a profit of Rs 300, now you have Rs 3,300 to play with. If you feel confident, put in more capital gradually. When you buy and sell on the same day, it's called day trading. Sometimes investors like you buy on a certain evening and sell on the following morning, or sell in the morning at a high price and buy in the same evening at a low price. However, you may want to trade, you should be able to make profits.

However, until and unless you are closely monitoring the markets throughout the time that it operates, you may not be able to make short-term gains. The better option then is to have your pick of the good stocks that are projected to perform well over a few months. Buy on a day when the markets are low buy your stocks, rest for some time, and when these go up to a price that meets your expectations, sell them and book profits. The key to profit-making is buying at a lower price and selling at a higher price.

Although some small-time stocks or even penny stocks (those valued at less than Rs 10) may seem to yield higher profits, it is better to go in for good performing companies and remaining invested in them for a few weeks or months.
Currently, it may be a good time to invest in stocks as the economy, and consequently the stocs markets, are expected to pick up in the next 6-8 months.