Investors can now buy and sell government bonds with ease

With the launch of the retail direct mobile app, investors can now buy G-Secs in the primary auctions as well as buy and sell the same in secondary market

-  BENN KOCHUVEEDAN

NEARLY two-and-a-half years after launching a dedicated portal to facilitate retail investors (RBI Retail Direct) directly invest in government bonds or sovereign gold bonds during the issuance time or later through the secondary markets, as part of its financial inclusion initiatives, last week, the Reserve Bank has launched a mobile app for the same giving a further leg-up to the inclusion drive.

The RBI Retail Direct portal was launched on November 12, 2021, while the mobile app (Retail Direct Mobile app) was personally launched by the governor Shaktikanta Das on May 28, 2024 in the presence of some key central board members and all the four deputy governors along with heads of major banks and other stakeholders only showing how serious the monetary authority is on this project.

What's Retail Direct?

The Retail Direct is a one-stop solution to facilitate investment primarily in government bonds by individual investors. It also allows one to trade in state government bonds, sovereign gold bonds and floating rate saving bonds as well. Under this scheme, individual retail investors can open gilt securities accounts - Retail Direct Gilt Account with RBI and participate in the primary issuance of government bonds, or invest in sovereign gold bonds or to invest in floating rate saving bonds. And not just that such an account opened with the RBI can also help you hold these assets with the most secured and guaranteed money manager that the RBI is.