Over 1.6 mn investor accounts added in stock markets in a year

Total number of investor accounts on NSDL and CDSL was 23.7 mn by June 2015-end compared with 22 million same month last year

A strengthening securities market backed by investor-friendly climate has helped boost the number of investor accounts on the depositories by 1,66 million to nearly 2.4 crore in the last one year period.

The cumulative number of investor accounts on the country's two depositories -- NSDL and CDSL -- stood at 23.7 million at the end of June 2015 compared with 22 million in the same month last year.

The National Securities Depository Ltd (NSDL) and the Central Depository Services Ltd (CDSL) allow investors to deposit securities by opening an account.

The securities such as shares, debentures, bonds of investors are held in electronic form (dematerialised form) at the depositories.

As per latest data, the total number of investor accounts at NSDL stood at nearly 14 million, as on June 30, 2015 against 13.2 million in the same period year-ago.

CDSL reported 98 lakh investor accounts for June-end, this year -- an addition of about 950,000 accounts over 8.9 million accounts in the same period last year.

Together, the total number of demat accounts stood at 23.7 million at the end of June this year -- translating to an addition of 1.66 million accounts from the same period in 2014.

During June 2013-June 2014 period, a total of 830,000 demat accounts were registered on the depositories.

According to market analysts, the number of demat accounts has seen a rise in past year on account of positive stock market sentiments, more initial public offers (IPOs) and digitisation of new securities classes like insurance.

In the last 12 months beginning July 1, 2014, the benchmark BSE Sensex as well as NSE Nifty has risen by about 9 per cent.

"Regulators have also emphasised and directed depository participants towards simplified demat account opening processes to improve inclusiveness and increase participation in markets," Yes Securities' Chitra Pandeya said.

"With the launch of its trading arm 'Yes Securities' over a year ago, Yes Bank has seen a significant rise in the number of demat accounts it opens," Pandeya added.

Meanwhile, data showed that the total value of securities in dematerialised form at the depositories stood at more than Rs 131.26 lakh crore at the end of June, 2015, a growth of 29 per cent over the same period in 2014.

NSDL registered demat securities worth Rs 117 lakh crore while CDSL recorded demat value stood at more than Rs 88.5 lakh crore, as on June 30, 2015.