Participate in the stock market transactions, you have to open a trading account with the help of some SEBI registered broker/sub-broker.

Any individual over 18 years of age can open a Demat and trading account digitally. Mandatory documents for the same are PAN, bank account, identity, and address proofs.

Fill up a digital form
Visit the broker’s website and fill out the account opening form with details such as name, address, PAN, and bank details of the account that is to be linked to the Demat and trading account. Also, the most suitable brokerage plan needs to be selected.

Upload documents
Scanned copies of documents such as Aadhaar, PAN, cancelled cheque, need to be uploaded. The investor’s photograph, as well as scanned signature, may be needed.
Aadhaar e-verification
The individual can now review the form and submit it. The form can next be electronically signed using the Aadhaar authentication process through OTP.
The individual can transfer funds into the trading account and securities held in some other Demat account to the new account.

Proof of identity: Voter’s ID, Aadhaar card, PAN card, passport, or driving license
●    Proof of Address: Ration card, electricity bills, telephone bills, property tax receipts, passport, bank passbook, voter’s ID, or Aadhaar card
●    Proof of Income: Photocopy of the Income Tax Return (ITR), recent salary slip, bank A/C statement of the current bank, or cancelled personalized cheque.

A bank holds your funds, and just like that, a depository contains your financial assets. A depository is a financial institute that does this and you have to pay certain dp charges to open an account with a depository participant linked to a main depository. The depository has the responsibility of keeping your financial assets like bonds, mutual funds, stocks, and other assets in dematerialized format safe.
India has two primary depositories – NSDL (National Securities Depository Limited) and CSDL (Central Depository Services Limited).

A Broker is a member of a recognized stock exchange, who is permitted to do trades on the screen-based trading system of different stock exchanges. He is enrolled as a member with the concerned exchange and is registered with SEBI.

By trading in demat segment the risk of bad deliveries is completely eliminated. One can also save on 0.5% in stamp duty in case of transfer of electronic shares. It also avoids the cost of courier; follow up with broker and loss of share certificates in transit. One can also take a loan against shares held in demat form by pledging the same with various lending institutions if required.

Prior to the concept of electronic exchanges shares were issued to investors in physical form. Dematerialization is the process by which physical certificates of an investor are converted to an quivalent number of securities in electronic form and credited to the investor’s account with his Depository Participant (DP).

A depository is like a bank wherein the deposits are securities (viz. shares, debentures, bonds, government securities, units etc.) in electronic form. In India currently there are two depositories namely National Securities Depository Limited (NSDL) & Central Depository services Limited (CDSL) whose services are availed of by many members who are called ‘Depository Participants’.

Periodic payments to shareholders made out of the company’s profits are termed as dividends. The company decides the amount in a board meeting based on the company’s performance and surplus

The nominal or stated amount (in Rs.) assigned to a security by the issuer. For shares, it is the original cost of the stock shown on the certificate. For an equity share, the face value is usually a very small amount (Rs. 5, Rs. 10) and is a small contributor on the price of the share, which may quote higher in the market, at Rs. 100 or Rs. 1000 or any other price.

Equity investments are basically investments in shares of companies which are listed/being listed on trading exchanges. Stocks can be bought/sold from the exchanges (secondary market) or via IPOs – Initial Public Offerings (primary market). Stocks can be termed as one of the best long-term investment options as the market volatility and the resultant risk of losses are mitigated by the general upward momentum of the economy in the long run.