Govt directs all unlisted companies to dematerialise shares by September

India has around 6,000 listed companies, and almost all shares are held in the demat form

The government plans to make it compulsory for unlisted companies to get their shares dematerialised by September, according to government officials.

The corporate affairs ministry wants all unlisted companies with paid-up capital of more than Rs 50 million to digitalise shares by June-end. Others can do so by September.

The aim is to make transactions more transparent.

“The National Securities Depository Ltd (NSDL) and the Central Securities Depository Ltd (CDSL) will have pre-verified shares in electronic mode, which will help settle transactions in an effective manner,” according to a senior government official.  

When shares in the electronic form are available