National Securities Depository Limited is an Indian central securities depository based in Mumbai. It was established in August 1996 as the first electronic securities depository in India with national coverage. It was established based on a suggestion by a national institution responsible for the economic development of India.
History
Although India had a vibrant capital market which is more than a century old, the paper-based settlement of trades caused substantial problems such as bad delivery and delayed transfer of title. The enactment of Depositories Act in August 1996 paved the way for establishment b.of National Securities Depository Limited, the first depository in India. It went on to establish infrastructure based on international standards that handles most of the securities held and settled in de-materialised form in the Indian capital markets. In the depository system, securities are held in depository accounts, which are similar to holding funds in bank accounts. Transfer of ownership of securities is done through simple account transfers. This method does away with all the risks and hassles normally associated with paperwork. Consequently, the cost of transacting in a depository environment is considerably lower as compared to transacting in certificates. In August 2009, number of Demat accounts held with NSDL crossed one crore.
Payments Bank
RBI issued licence to NSDL to operate as a payment bank in India from 29 October 2018 under section 22 of Banking Regulation Act 1949 to carry payment transactions. https://rbidocs.rbi.org.in/rdocs/PressRelease/PDFs/PR99151550DFE563D43C28B34CACF4D994205.PDF
NSDL Group comprises National Securities Depository Limited, NSDL Database Management Limited, NSDL e-Governance Infrastructure Limited & NSDL Payments Bank Limited respectively. NSDL e-Gov was originally set up as a Depository in 1995. NSDL also has a subsidiary company NSDL Database Management Limited.
NSDL Facts & Figures
As of 30 September 2018 Number of certificates eliminated 3167 Number of companies in which more than 75% shares are dematted 8977 Average number of accounts opened per day since November 1996 3682 Presence of demat account holders in the country 99.29% of all pincodes in the country