CDSL
Central Depository Services Limited (CDSL) is India's second depository, established in 1999 and registered with SEBI. It holds securities in electronic form for investors and is the larger depository by number of demat accounts (over 80% of retail).
Understanding CDSL
CDSL operates similarly to NSDL — dematerialising securities, settling trades, processing corporate actions. Both depositories follow identical SEBI rules; functionally they are interchangeable from an investor perspective.
CDSL's growth has come from the discount-broker boom — Zerodha alone has over 14 million demat accounts as of 2026, all on CDSL. The total CDSL accounts crossed 14 crore in 2026, far surpassing NSDL's institutional-heavy base.
Why it matters
Knowing your depository affects how you log into independent verification portals (NSDL IDeAS vs CDSL Easi), how you transfer holdings between DPs, and what fees apply for specific operations. Discount-broker users are almost always on CDSL; full-service brokers are split.
Example
When you open a Zerodha demat account, the actual securities are held in CDSL's books with Zerodha as your Depository Participant. You can log into CDSL Easi using your Demat Account Number to see all your holdings — independent of Zerodha's app.
When you open a Zerodha demat account, the actual securities are held in CDSL's books with Zerodha as your Depository Participant. You can log into CDSL Easi using your Demat Account Number to see all your holdings — independent of Zerodha's app.