Central Depository Services Ltd (CDSL) has become the first depository in the country to open over three crore active demat accounts.
The depository facilitates holding and transacting in securities electronically and facilitates settlement of trades on stock exchanges.
Of the new accounts, about 98.4 per cent come from retail investors and with an outreach of 97 per cent pin-codes, CDSL said in a statement on Saturday.
CDSL demat accounts crossed the one crore mark in August 2015, two crore mark in January 2020 and three crore mark last month.
"There is an immense opportunity of growth given that a large part of the population of our country is yet outside the securities markets," said G Mahalingam, Wholetime Member of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).
He called for spreading awareness on government securities, the role of market infrastructure institutions, investor protection and the importance of corporate governance systems.
Mahalingam also emphasised the role of a robust regulator responsibility for a strong sustainable ecosystem among market infrastructure institutions.
CDSL Chairman B V Chaubal said the focus of registering new demat accounts is shifting from metros to tier two and three cities, which is indicative of deepening and widening capital market.
"We have been working towards strengthening its digital footprint and providing various digital solutions for the investors," he said. "The three crore demat accounts are a testimony of the convenience offered to customers."
The major shareholders of CDSL include BSE (earlier known as Bombay Stock Exchange), Canara Bank, HDFC Bank, Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) and Standard Chartered Bank.
( With inputs from ANI )
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