Differentiate between NSDL & CDSL?

NSDL stands for National Securities Depository Limited and deals with 'National Stock Exchange'. CDSL stands for Central Depository Securities Limited, which works with Bombay Stock Exchange.

NSDL, India's oldest and largest electronic securities depository, was established in 1996. It is based in Mumbai (Maharashtra). It is India's first electronic depository to offer settlement and trading in securities in demat or electronic form. NSDL has approximately 1.7 million investor accounts and 30500 DP service centres covering around 2000 cities.

CDSL, another Indian electronic depository for securities, was established in 1999. It is also located in Mumbai, Maharashtra. It is India's second-largest securities depository and allows book-entry transfers. CDSL has around 1.6 million investor accounts, managed by 19000 DP services centers.

These are registered depositories that are managed by the government and can hold securities such as Stocks, Shares or money in electronic form.

Comparison of NSDL and CDSL Key Differences

There are key differences between NSDL (and CDSL)

Comparing NSDL to CDSL shows that there are not many differences between CDSL and NSDL demat accounts. Both NSDL as well as CDSL are regularly maintained by the Indian Government and offer customers the same services.

Investors don't need to worry about where your account is stored.

Brokers will often highlight the benefits of having an account with NSDL or CDSL as a premium benefit. This is a marketing trick to get you to open an account.