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Demat accounts and depository participants in India

Mon, 18 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

A demat account is the electronic equivalent of a physical share certificate, holding ownership of listed equity, debt, mutual fund units, government securities, and other dematerialised instruments in a single beneficial-owner account at one of India’s two depositories. The Indian depository regime was established under the Depositories Act 1996 , creating a statutory foundation for dematerialisation that allowed the Indian securities market to transition away from paper-based settlement to fully electronic clearing.

Mutual fund custodian (India)

Wed, 13 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The mutual fund custodian in India is a separately registered intermediary that holds the securities of every mutual fund scheme on behalf of unit-holders, independently of the asset management company that manages those securities. The role is constituted under the SEBI (Custodian of Securities) Regulations, 1996, and is made mandatory by Regulation 26 of the SEBI (Mutual Funds) Regulations, 1996 , framed under the SEBI Act, 1992 . The custodian is one of the external service providers, alongside the registrar and transfer agent and the scheme auditor, that the trustee of a fund must appoint.

Mutual fund fund accountant (India)

Wed, 13 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The mutual fund fund accountant (India) is the entity or department that computes the daily mark-to-market net asset value of each scheme, maintains the scheme-level books of account, charges allowable expenses and operates the accounting of unit-holder distributions. The role is constituted under Regulations 47 to 50 and the Eighth Schedule of the SEBI (Mutual Funds) Regulations, 1996 , framed under the SEBI Act, 1992 . Every asset management company is required to ensure the function is carried out by competent personnel with appropriate systems, whether retained in-house or outsourced.

Mutual fund Registrar and Transfer Agent (India)

Wed, 13 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The mutual fund Registrar and Transfer Agent (RTA) in India is a SEBI-registered intermediary that maintains the official register of unit-holders of every scheme of every appointing asset management company, processes the investor lifecycle from folio creation to redemption, and provides the operational interface between the unit-holder and the fund house. The role is constituted under the SEBI (Registrars to an Issue and Share Transfer Agents) Regulations, 1993, applied to mutual funds through Regulation 26A of the SEBI (Mutual Funds) Regulations, 1996 , framed under the SEBI Act, 1992 . Every trustee is required to appoint a SEBI-registered RTA, whether outsourced or operated in-house under a separate registration.