Dematerialisation: A digital revolution in Indian finance

Exactly 26 years ago, India embarked on a very ambitious path in digital finance leading to remarkable results. It is time for more such reforms

The number of dematerialised accounts in India recently crossed 100 million. Given India’s population, large numbers can be obtained in many fields — but each of these milestones is backed by a reforms programme of imagination and execution. The remarkable success of securities dematerialisation is a story of high quality legislation, thoughtful institution-building, leadership and risk-taking, and genuine co-operative federalism.

A depository is, simply, an abode for safe-keeping of valuables, where the ownership record of these valuables can change on a computer system. As with so much else about the early years of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi)