What does record date and ex-date mean?

Record date:
This is the date on which the company checks its records. Only shareholders whose names appear in the company’s shareholder records on this date are entitled to receive dividends or other corporate actions like rights issues, bonus shares, or stock splits.

Ex-date:
This is the date on or after which, if someone buys shares of a company, they will not be eligible to receive the benefit of corporate actions such as dividend.

In most cases, the ex-date and record date are kept on the same day. Therefore, if you purchase shares of a company on the record date, you will not be entitled to receive the benefit of such corporate actions.