In a landmark step towards modernizing India’s capital markets, the National Securities Depository Limited (NSDL) was established in 1996 as the first depository in India, ushering in the era of electronic securities and paperless trading.
Set up under the Depositories Act of 1996, NSDL was promoted by Industrial Development Bank of India (IDBI), Unit Trust of India (UTI), and the National Stock Exchange (NSE). It eliminated the cumbersome and error-prone process of handling physical share certificates, making Indian markets more efficient, transparent, and investor-friendly.
“NSDL revolutionized the way Indians invest. From queues and paperwork to seamless online trades, it transformed the entire system,” said a senior official at SEBI.
- Name: National Securities Depository Limited (NSDL)
- Established: 1996
- Headquarters: Mumbai
- Promoted by: IDBI, UTI, NSE
- Significance: India’s first and largest depository; initiated dematerialisation (demat) of shares
NSDL enabled investors to hold and transfer securities in dematerialized (demat) form, reducing risks like theft, forgery, and delays. It also laid the foundation for faster settlement cycles, online IPO applications, and electronic voting, contributing to the robust infrastructure of India’s financial markets.
Today, NSDL holds securities valued in trillions of rupees, servicing millions of investors and financial institutions — a testament to its role in digitizing India’s investment ecosystem.
