Demat account

An account holding shares in electronic form, maintained by a depository through a participant such as a broker or bank.

India has two depositories, and every listed share is held in one of them. The account is separate from the trading account, which is the mechanism through which orders are placed, and separate again from the bank account that funds them.

Shares are credited to the demat account on settlement, which under the current cycle is the day after the trade.

The consolidated account statement is the record of what you actually own.