Contract Notes, Settlement Cycles, and KYC Essentials

A beginner-friendly, India-specific guide to the paperwork and plumbing behind every trade you place. Built for first-time demat holders, college students, salaried professionals, homemakers, and retirees who have opened a Zerodha or Groww account, received a contract note by email, and never quite understood what it says or when their shares and money actually arrive. Covers SEBI's KYC rules and how to keep your record valid, how to read a contract note line by line and check every charge from brokerage to STT and stamp duty, how T+1 settlement moves shares between the exchange, the clearing corporation, and your CDSL or NSDL demat account, and what to do when a delivery is short, a ledger looks wrong, or a broker will not respond.