What a depository is
A depository is the company that keeps the central ledger of who owns every share in India. There are exactly two: NSDL, started in 1996 as India's first depository, and CDSL, started in 1999. Both are licensed and supervised by SEBI, and every broker in the country is a Depository Participant of one of them.
You do not open an account "with NSDL" or "with CDSL" directly. Your broker opens it on your behalf with whichever depository it is registered with. The choice is made for you, and for almost everything you will ever do, it does not matter.
What the depository does for you is specific and narrow: it records your holdings, credits and debits them on instructions your broker forwards, and produces the monthly Consolidated Account Statement. It does not execute trades, hold your money or give advice. It is the record-keeper at the end of the settlement chain.
Why two exist
NSDL began operations in August 1996 under the Depositories Act, promoted by NSE, IDBI and UTI, and ran as the country's only depository for its first three years. Its first-mover position is why older institutions, banks and the NSE ecosystem built their records with NSDL.
CDSL followed in 1999, promoted by BSE with backing from banks including State Bank of India, Union Bank of India and Axis Bank. A government clarification in August 1999 on inter-depository transfers and stamp duty cleared the way for a second depository, and connectivity between the two was established so shares could move across them.
The second entrant is also the reason you can ignore the whole question. Because the two depositories interoperate, no account is an island: a share can start in an NSDL account and end in a CDSL one through a routine transfer instruction. The duopoly exists for competition and resilience, and the competition happened once, at the level of infrastructure, not at the level of your account.
What is the same
| Aspect | NSDL | CDSL |
|---|---|---|
| Regulator | SEBI | SEBI |
| Job | Central record of securities ownership | Central record of securities ownership |
| Your shares | Same legal protection | Same legal protection |
| Settlement speed | T+1 | T+1 |
| Account safety | Dematerialized, PIN and OTP protected | Dematerialized, PIN and OTP protected |
For an investor, the depositories are interchangeable in the same way two nationalized banks are: different companies, same rules, same protection. Any article that ranks one above the other for safety is confusing corporate competition with investor risk, and you can ignore it.
The numbers behind both
The two differ in scale and in where their scale comes from. The figures below are from depository disclosures and reports published in mid 2026:
| Measure | CDSL | NSDL |
|---|---|---|
| Demat accounts (July 2026) | About 18.8 crore | About 4.6 crore |
| Depository participants | 585 (31 March 2026) | 315 (31 May 2026) |
| Value of securities in custody | About ₹77 lakh crore (March 2026) | Over ₹520 lakh crore (March 2026) |
Read the table top to bottom and the shape of the market appears: CDSL holds the majority of accounts because retail brokers and their millions of investors sit there; NSDL holds the majority of value because institutions and the older NSE ecosystem sit there. Roughly 81 percent of accounts and roughly 87 percent of custody value, in mid 2026.
None of that is a quality signal for you. It is a description of history, not a ranking of safety, and it has no effect on what an account costs or how fast it settles. The numbers are useful only because they explain why every article about depositories mentions both names.
What is actually different
| Aspect | NSDL | CDSL |
|---|---|---|
| Founded | August 1996 | 1999 |
| Promoters | NSE, IDBI, UTI | BSE with State Bank of India, Union Bank of India and Axis Bank |
| Account format | IN + digits (e.g. IN300378) | All digits (e.g. 12081800) |
| BO ID look | IN300378-12345678 | 12081800-12345678 |
| Scale | Larger share of custody value | Larger share of accounts |
The account format is the only difference you will ever personally encounter. Everything else in the table is corporate history, useful for understanding why the two exist, irrelevant for choosing anything.
How to tell which one holds you
Look at your Demat account number. If it starts with IN, your depository is NSDL. If it is all digits, it is CDSL. You can also find the depository name on any holding statement, in your broker app under profile details, or by checking the CAS (Consolidated Account Statement) you receive from the depositories every month.
The 16-digit BO ID breaks into two halves: the first eight digits identify your Depository Participant, the second eight identify you within it. That structure is the same at both depositories, which is why every IPO form, transfer instruction and pledge request asks for the same field.
Who charges what
Neither depository bills you directly. Each depository charges its Depository Participants for services, and your broker, as DP, passes a DP charge to you when shares leave your account on a sell. The charge you actually meet is the broker's published number, not the depository's tariff.
| Broker | DP charge on a sell (as published) | Read on |
|---|---|---|
| Upstox | ₹20 + GST per scrip per day | 16 August 2026 |
| Zerodha | ₹15.34 per scrip, GST included | 16 August 2026 |
| Groww | ₹3.50 depository + ₹16.50 Groww per sell | 16 August 2026 |
| Angel One | ₹20 + GST per ISIN | 16 August 2026 |
The table shows the real ranking that matters: brokers differ, and the depository behind each one is invisible in the number. When you compare DP charges, compare brokers. The depository participant guide walks through the full comparison and how to switch.
What people usually get wrong
NSDL is safer than CDSL (or the reverse)
Both are SEBI-regulated central records with the same protections. Safety does not differ.
You should pick a broker by its depository
The depository is invisible to your daily use. Pick a broker for fees, app and support.
You cannot move shares between depositories
Shares transfer freely between NSDL and CDSL accounts through a delivery instruction.
A larger depository means faster settlement
Both settle on the same T+1 cycle set by SEBI and the exchanges. Scale has nothing to do with your settlement speed.
Questions people ask
Look at your Demat account number, the 16-digit BO ID. If it starts with IN, the depository is NSDL; if it is all digits, it is CDSL. The same information appears on your holding statement, in the broker app under profile details, and on the monthly Consolidated Account Statement.
You do not pay either depository directly, so the question rarely reaches you. The depository charges your broker as a DP, and the broker passes a DP charge to you when you sell, publishing its own number regardless of which depository it uses. Compare the broker's published DP charge, not the depository behind it.
Yes. The two depositories have been connected since CDSL began operations, and inter-depository transfers settle through a delivery instruction. A broker switch that crosses depositories works like any other transfer; the shares arrive in the new account and the old one is closed after.
Not for safety or speed. Both are SEBI-regulated central records with the same settlement cycle, the same protections and the same legal standing. What differs between brokers is fees, the app and support, so those are the right criteria. The depository is infrastructure you will never interact with directly.
Because the Consolidated Account Statement is an aggregation service. SEBI requires the statement to consolidate every demat account linked to your PAN, whether it sits with NSDL or CDSL or both, so you receive one document listing all holdings. That is also how you spot holdings you forgot about, since the CAS is independent of any single broker.
The depositories are systemically important infrastructure: SEBI supervises them, inspects them and audits their systems, and the depository does not lend or trade with the securities it records. Your holding is a record in its books, segregated from the depository's own assets, so the failure of a broker or an investor does not touch the record, and the framework is built so the central record itself is not a single point of failure.
Where to go next
With the depositories sorted, the natural next layer is the intermediary that connects you to them, and the account that sits on top:
Sources
- The Tribune. “Demat accounts rise by 1.25% MoM to 234.4 million in July as incremental additions pick up: Report.” Accessed 16 August 2026.
- Outlook Money. “NSDL Adds 59 Lakh Demat Accounts In FY26, Records Highest-Ever Annual Expansion.” Accessed 16 August 2026.
- Moneycontrol. “NSDL’s assets under custody cross Rs 520 Lakh crore milestone.” Accessed 16 August 2026.
- National Securities Depository Limited. “NSDL official website.” Accessed 16 August 2026.
- Central Depository Services (India) Limited. “CDSL official website.” Accessed 16 August 2026.