The two depositories
NSDL (National Securities Depository Ltd) launched with the Depositories Act of 1996 and historically handles a larger share of institutional and exchange-settled business. CDSL (Central Depository Services Ltd) followed in 1999 and holds a majority of investor accounts. Both are regulated by SEBI, both follow the same settlement rules, and for a retail investor they function identically.
How to see your holdings directly
Every month the depositories email a consolidated account statement (CAS) covering all your demat accounts across brokers. The statement comes from the depository, not the broker, so it shows the truth even if a broker’s app misbehaves. Reading it once a month is the cheapest portfolio audit available.
How settlement connects the exchange and the depository
When you buy a share, the trade happens on the exchange, and the clearing corporation nets all trades of the day and computes who owes what to whom. The depositories execute the actual transfer on settlement day: the seller’s DP debits the shares from the seller’s BO account, and the buyer’s DP credits the buyer’s BO account, both against the clearing corporation’s guarantee. The money moves through the clearing banks the same day. The depository is the ledger where ownership changes hands; the exchange is the marketplace where price is discovered.
The monthly CAS, and how to read it
Once a month, NSDL or CDSL emails a consolidated account statement covering every demat account linked to your PAN, across every broker. It lists each holding, its value at the month-end price, and the account’s nominee. Because it comes from the depository and not the broker, it is the independent record: whatever a broker app shows, the CAS is the truth. Reading it takes two minutes and catches wrong credits, missing nominees and forgotten second accounts.
A concrete example
Your demat account number is a 16-digit BO ID. The first part identifies the depository participant (your broker), the rest identifies you. That number is your address inside NSDL or CDSL, and it stays valid even if you change brokers.
The numbers to remember
2
Depositories in India: NSDL and CDSL
1996
NSDL founded under the Depositories Act
16 digits
Your Beneficiary Owner ID
Questions people ask about Depository
Your shares are credited to your BO ID at NSDL or CDSL, not to the broker’s account. If a broker fails, the holdings remain with the depository and you transfer them through another depository participant. The monthly CAS from the depository is your independent proof of ownership.
No. The depository is determined by the depository participant your broker is registered with. The choice is made at the broker level, and for a retail investor the two depositories work identically.
The depositories are SEBI-regulated institutions with settlement-guarantee backing through the clearing corporations, and the demat records are audited continuously. The structure has functioned through broker failures and market shocks since 1996. The point of the two-depository design is exactly this separation: your record lives with the depository, not with any single broker.
First to your depository participant, whose grievance officer is named on its website. Unresolved complaints escalate to the depository’s investor services, and from there to SEBI’s SCORES portal, which tracks the complaint until resolution. Each of these levels exists precisely because the record belongs to the depository.
Ready to put the words to work?
The account costs ₹0 to open, and the first year of AMC is free.