@nithin and @Karthik are going live.
Two people who have spent years thinking about markets, investing, and building Zerodha now taking your questions.
Join and ask them about trading, investing, Zerodha’s journey, and anything on the markets
No set agenda. Just a conversation and your questions.
Date: 14th Aug 2026
Time: 6 PM – 8 PM
https://varsitylive.zerodha.com/programmes/85497a53-9231-4879-9800-5c3a87788a3b
If there’s something you’ve always wanted to ask, this is a good time.
Hello Zerodha Support,
I am a Nepali citizen and currently a resident of Nepal. I want to open a trading and Demat account with Zerodha to invest/trade in the Indian stock market.
Could you please confirm:
Please provide the current procedure and applicable rules.
Thank you.
Thanks for reaching out.
Since you are a Nepali citizen currently residing in Nepal, you are considered a non-resident foreign national under Indian regulations. You cannot open a standard Resident or NRI (PIS/Non-PIS) account.
Yes, but only via the Individual Foreign Portfolio Investor (FPI) route. It is important to note that the Individual FPI route is a complex route and involves high setup/compliance costs.
Ref: What is a Foreign Portfolio Investor (FPI)?
Because you have to come through the FPI route, you cannot open a Demat account directly with Zerodha. You must first appoint a SEBI-registered Custodian / Designated Depository Participant (DDP) (like Orbis, HDFC, etc.). Your Custodian will handle your KYC and FPI registration.
To map your trading account at Zerodha, you will need:
No, in your case. An E-FRRO (Foreigners Regional Registration Office) document is only mandatory for foreign nationals (including Nepali citizens) who reside in India and want to open a standard Indian Resident trading account. Since you reside in Nepal, E-FRRO does not apply to you.
Yes, as a registered FPI, you can buy and sell equity on a delivery basis across the NSE and BSE.
No. Under the FPI framework, all trades are routed and settled through your custodian on a delivery basis. Intraday equity trading (MIS) is not allowed.
Yes, FPIs are permitted to trade F&O, but you require a CP (Custodial Participant) code mapped by your custodian to clear your trades. It is highly regulated with strict position limits.
You will need to check this with your Nepal Bank & the local Indian bank.
You will need to verify/check the local Nepal laws for an FPI account and also connect with the DDP (Designated Depository Participant), who will assist with the other FPI requirements.
However, If you were to relocate to India/live here for more than 182 days and obtain an E-FRRO, Indian Address Proof, and a local bank account, you could open a standard resident account easily.
You can also connect us on 080 4719 2020 or 080 7117 5337 or create a ticket our team would be happy to assist you. 
Why does Zerodha maintain an “Approved List of Securities for Gifting”? Is it due to any SEBI/CDSL requirement or Zerodha’s internal policy?
This is an internal policy on our end. We maintain an approved list for gifting, and it’s updated every month. These are liquid, actively traded stocks and ETFs that aren’t under any exchange surveillance. Newly listed, illiquid, or T2T stocks are left out to keep things safe and avoid operational hiccups.
You can use CDSL Easiest to do an off-market transfer for anything outside the list. Explained here.
@Oneid ^
This is on our list of things to do. We can’t comment on a timeline yet.
I feel Zerodha Console would offer a better and more seamless experience if it were app-based instead of web-based. Couldn’t it be integrated into the Zerodha app while keeping the data management separate in the background?
I am not able to select SHNI / BHNI category while applying for any IPO through Kite .
Can we pls change this as soon as possible.
The challenge is that Console itself is heavily data-driven, so it isn’t just a matter of putting the existing web experience inside the app.
If we build a separate app-based Console while keeping the data management in the background, we’d still need to build and maintain another architecture to handle all that data. That adds a fair amount of complexity and also means maintaining two experiences.
Keeping Console web-based makes it simpler and more reliable, especially since it handles a lot of data and functionality. This way, we don’t add that load to the Kite app and can keep the app experience lighter and more stable.
Hi @siva0 , IPO bids above Rs. 2 lakh are automatically considered under the HNI category, so you don’t have to select the category separately while applying through Kite. Explained this here.
Can you pls keep it as 
information while applying coz i thought it didn’t exist in zerodha .
At this juncture i believe ipo page needs lot more info than trying to be simple as possible.
Makes sense. Will have this discussed within the team. Thanks for the feedback.
We’ll make an official announcement with all the details within this quarter. We’re close. 
