The National Securities Depository (NSDL) has several path-breaking technology backed initiatives to its credit. G.V. Nageswara Rao, MD and CEO, talks about the latest developments and new initiatives
x What trends are you seeing with demat accounts?
The pace of demat account growth is picking up and the majority of accounts opened in the recent months belong to new investors. As a result, there has been a spurt in online trading; we are able to see this based on the activity that is reflected in the consolidated account statement (CAS) that we send out. The transaction volumes have also witnesses an increase. Overall, it is a positive sign for us from business point of view.
From time-to-time, several investors who still have physical shares with them realise that they cannot sell their holdings and shift these to demat account. Such inactive investors are few, but they all need to move to demat form for its benefits and convenience.
On our part, our initiative called Market Eaklavya to lure young investors at colleges is proving to be encouraging. We are educating them regarding equity investments, resulting in several students opening demat accounts and taking up investing.
x What is the benefit of CAS?
At present, investors find it difficult to have a complete picture of their portfolio. Most investors do not readily know the total value of their portfolio or its composition. They often get different advice from different entities. Unless an investor is well-organised and keeps proper records, he cannot easily compile a list of all his investments.
NSDL has introduced the consolidated account statement (NSDL CAS), which is a single statement of all investments one makes in the securities market, be it equity shares, preference shares, mutual funds, bonds, debentures, securitised instruments, government securities (other than those held in subsidiary general ledger or SGL), commercial papers or certificates of deposit. It offers unparalleled convenience to investors in keeping track of their portfolio.
NSDL CAS provides investors an insight into their portfolio across various asset classes. It enables them to manage their portfolio effectively through better decision making, simplified monitoring and rich analysis. Investors can get more information about NSDL CAS by visiting https:// nsdlcas.nsdl.com. In fact, there have been instances where several investors have written to us stating that NSDL CAS has helped them realise a lot of their holdings that they had otherwise forgotten about. Having all investment holdings in a single account helps investors have better control over the way their investments fare.
x When will the payment banking activity start?
We are excited about this space, and our strength and track record of handling a large volume of transactions will differentiate us. We are also the cheapest and the largest depository in the world. We charge only Rs.4.50 on one side for a transaction. So, we will be looking at this aspect of our experience in addressing the issue of currency handling for large organisations. We will enter this space in 2016.
