Growth in demat accounts gathers pace

Mumbai: Demat accounts in India are growing at a fast pace. With 2016 being one of the best years for initial public offers ( IPOs) in the country, depository provider CDSL recorded a 13.2% jump in demat accounts while its rival NSDL saw a growth of 6.6% last year, a bulletin from capital marker regulator Sebi said.

The total number of investor accounts were 153.3 lakh at NSDL and 119.2 lakh at CDSL at the end of January 2017. In January 2017, the number of investor accounts at NSDL and CDSL increased by 0.6 percent and 1.0 percent, respectively, over the previous month.

The rise in demat accounts shows that more retail investors were investing in markets. Apart from equity now even mutual funds can be held in demat accounts.