Leading depository CDSL on Wednesday said the number of active demat accounts opened with it has reached 2.5 crore. CDSL, which began its operations in 1999, reached 1 crore active demat accounts in September 2015, crossed the 2 crore figure in January this year, and the 2.5 crore mark as on August 31, 2020, the depository said in a statement.

In the period of less than 5 years, Central Depository Services Ltd (CDSL) has added 1.5 crore demat accounts. The rise in the number of investors, especially during the current unprecedent times, is a representation that the investors are now moving to self-sufficient environment with opening and operating demat accounts from the comfort of their homes, the depository's MD and CEO Nehal Vora said.

CDSL, which allows investors to deposit securities by opening an account in electronic form (dematerialised), gets its revenues from transaction charges, account maintenance charges and settlement charges paid by depository participants.

It also earns through annual fees, corporate action and e-voting charges paid by companies whose securities are admitted in the depository's system. .