What is a central depository?
A central securities depository (CSD) is a specialist financial organisation. It holds securities such as shares in certificated or uncertificated (dematerialised) form. The latter enables ownership to be transferred easily through a book entry rather than the transfer of physical certificates. There are two CSDs in India currently: Central Depository Services (India) Ltd (CDSL) and National Securities Depository Limited (NSDL).