NEW DELHI — Monthly systematic investment plan (SIP) numbers in India surged to INR 24,508.73 crore in the month of September, up from INR 23,547.34 crore in August, which is a 4 per cent increase, the Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI) data showed on Thursday. The SIP contributions crossed the INR 24,000 crore mark for the first time. According to the monthly data released by the AMFI, the number of new SIPs registered in September stood at 6,638,857. The assets under management (AUM) of SIP reached an all-time high of INR 13.81 lakh crore. As per the AMFI data, the total number of SIP accounts reached a record 98.744 million against 96.136 million in August. Mutual fund folios reached an all-time high of 210,515,684 in September, the data showed. Meanwhile, inflows into equity schemes dropped by 10 per cent to INR 34,419 crore in September. Inflows into small-cap schemes stood at INR 3,070 compared to INR 3,209 crore in August. In the July-September period, AUM of mutual funds surged by a record 12.3 per cent to INR 66.2 lakh crore. This is the largest quarterly increase in mutual fund assets in the last five years in the country....