CDSL

CDSL was formed in the year 1999 with a primary function to hold both the certified and a dematerialized form of shares, stocks and securities. It has a wide network of operations through 17,000 sites across the country with an active demat account base of 1,78,12,144. 

As per the latest numbers, a total of 599 stockbrokers in different capacities are associated with CDSL.

The depository has received some of the prominent recognition in the BFSI space in the recent past. Here are some of the stats in regards to this depository that you must be aware of:

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CDSL Full Form

CDSL full form is – Central Depository Services Limited.

It is jointly promoted by the century-old Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), State Bank of India (SBI), Bank of India (BOI), Bank of Baroda, Standard Chartered Bank, Union Bank of India, Axis Bank and HDFC Bank.  

It is the second most popular public sector depository service in India after NSDL.

Gone are the days of physical certificates of stocks and securities. As a result, the hazardous task of physically handling these certificates and their transport for the name change of its current holder is not anymore with the depository services of CDSL. This happens before the book closures happen for ownership and dividends.

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How CDSL Works?

CDSL functions the same as the bank but here it is not money that it holds but it is the stocks and securities of the people. So, as a trader or investor, when you buy securities or stocks from the share market, then depending on your broker’s affiliation with the depository, those stocks are kept.

Upon buying a share through a member of the Bombay stock exchange or any other exchanges and after due payment to the member, the stocks are transferred in the digital form to the DP or the depository participants of the member.  

These DPs are depository services to investors formed according to the SEBI or the Securities Exchange Board of India the Government’s watchdog of the financial transactions in India.  

Let’s take a step back and understand these entities:

Depository Participant

DP is the bridge between the bank account holder, BO (beneficial owner), the issuing company of the securities, CDSL, the beneficiary owner’s broker and the concerned stock exchange.

Banks, financial institutions, custodians, stockbrokers can become DPs as per the SEBI issued guidelines.

The Central Depository services Limited authorized DPS to serve throughout India to help investors in handling the digitalized form of securities.

CDSL Demat Account

For CDSL Demat Account Opening, it is mandatory to own a Demat (account with dematerialization) account with it. The normal KYC norms which are applicable to open a bank account are enough to open a Demat account.

This Demat account is not only to avail the services of CDSL but also for trading in stocks and securities nowadays. This has become part and parcel of all financial transactions to park the digitalized form of securities.

Like a bank account, there is a unique Demat account number, and only the account holder either could add or remove the securities from the Demat account.

To learn more about CDSL, you can check this too.

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CDSL Example

Let’s take an example to understand the concept completely post all this theoretical understanding we have gone so far.

On buying 1000 shares of Reliance company at a specified rate on any trading day, a member of the stock exchange has to pay the member the price of the share along with its brokerage for the member.  

Upon paying the amount the shares bought will be transferred to the Demat account of the member in T+1 days. That is the traded day of the security and another working day.

And if the BO or the beneficiary owner or the buyer of the share wants to sell it, he places the selling order with the broker or member of the stock exchange and sells the stock in the market.  

Upon selling the shares the BO signs an advisory slip to remove the shares sold from his Demat account. Once the sign is verified, the shares get removed from the account and the broker gets the payment from the exchange for the shares and credits it in the BO bank account.  

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CDSL Charges

Any intermediary, depository participant or any business entity that wants to associate itself with CDSL in any form needs to pay a specific fee. These charges are of multiple kinds and are applicable to an entity depending on its type.

Here are the CDSL demat account charges details:

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CDSL Benefits

The advantages of Central Depository Services Limited include:

• The time and hazardous task of handling the share certificates for transferring it into the name of the buyer are no more with CDSL.
• The Demat account is the flagship feature of central depository services limited wherein the securities are kept in the digitalized or dematerialized form for eternity. Only on the approved and verified authorization of the beneficiary owner they could be transferred from the Demat account
• The dividends, rights, and bonuses of the securities as per the company’s announcements will be automatically credited in the Demat account as the interest is accrued in the deposits of a bank account.
• The listed company management can get real-time information about its holdings and can keep a tab on the change in any detail related to the security.
• As far as the safety aspect is concerned, CDSL uses enterprise-class supercomputers in its technical architecture with a top storage system. In simpler words, the tech part is pretty sophisticated.

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CDSL Concerns

The CDSL is beneficial in many ways but there are certain cons or disadvantages of it which include:

• The rural people who are used to hold the physical certificates on the purchase of it are not much aware of the procedures of depository services.  
• Since all investments are in digital form and in a Demat account all the financial transactions and the money involved in them have to be accounted for with the Governmental agencies.
• The pride possession of having the physical certificates at home is not possible anymore with the Demat account.
• Multiple levels of regulatory frameworks involving various depositories Act, regulations, by-laws of depositories have to be followed.

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Conclusion

With the globalization of the economy, the Indian financial market has opened its doors for foreign investment which is much helped by CDSL. The economy is boosted by the dematerialized form of securities and its easy and controlled holding of securities.

There are many platforms that promote foreign investment, but before investing it is good to learn how to invest in foreign stocks.

This helps you to get into investing in a planned way thus increasing a chance to earn a profit.

The foreign investment has paved the way for many investors to invest in the stock market. The phenomenal rise of the index of the exchanges in the last few years after the opening of the depositories is crystal proof of the importance of them.  

It is only one way for the financial markets to go and for the prosperity of every investor with the services of CDSL.

In case you are looking to get started with stock market trading through a broker with CDSL, let us assist you in taking the next steps forward.

 

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For more information on Share Market, here are some reference links for you: