Now You Can Invest In T-Bills Via SIP On RBI's Retail Direct Platform
In a move that is aimed at deepening retail participation in government securities, the Reserve Bank of India has announced that systematic investment plans will soon be enabled for Treasury Bills through its Retail Direct platform.
RBI's Retail Direct platform, launched in November 2021, allows individual investors to buy government securities in primary auctions as well as buy and sell them in the secondary market.
Since the launch of the Scheme, various new features, in terms of product as well as payment options, have been introduced, including launch of a mobile app in May 2024.
Until now, retail participation in short-term instruments such as T-bills was largely ad hoc. With the introduction of SIPs, retail investors will now be able to automate regular investments in these low-risk, short-duration instruments, much like mutual fund SIPs.
"We are expanding the functionality of RBI retail direct platform which will enable retail investors to invest in treasury bills through systematic investment plans," Governor Sanjay Malhotra said during the monetary policy announcement.
To enable investors to systematically plan their investments, an auto-bidding facility for T-bills, covering both investment and re-investment options, has been enabled in Retail Direct, the statement on developmental and regulatory policies said.
The new functionality helps investors to mandate automatic placement of bids in primary auctions of T-bills, it said.
The move is expected to boost financial inclusion, offer a stable alternative to bank deposits, and encourage retail participation in the fixed income market which is largely institutionalised.
SIPs in T-bills can particularly benefit risk-averse savers looking for steady returns with sovereign backing.
-
Signature Play: The Classic Cocktail Is Dead. Or Is It?
Classic cocktails are disappearing from India's cocktail menus. But they're still being ordered, taught to bartenders and borrowed from. So, who's really having the last drink?
-
A New Samvat Wishlist: Inclusive Prosperity And Human Development
India has strengthened its economic foundations through infrastructure, digital access and enterprise. Its next growth chapter must deepen productivity, create better livelihoods and widen participation in prosperity.
-
Love, Sex Aur Dhokha: The Audacious Plot To Spy On Jensen Huang
A Taipei dinner, a Singapore chip buyer and a suspected Chinese asset: inside the alleged spy operation that got close to NVIDIA's Jensen Huang.
-
Ten Things I Learnt This Samvat
Patience can be a trap. Cheap stocks can stay cheap. Leverage can wipe you out. What did Samvat 2082 teach us? Niraj Shah writes on 10 lessons from the year gone by.
-
Talking Points This Week: Tech Nerves, FII Buying, And A Faraway Banking Shock
The global markets are not shining this Diwali. The exception in the large markets is, India.
-
Midterm Rally Lasted A Day. The Hard Reality Of A Divided US May Last Two Years | Opinion
Between a contested AI boom, a debt ceiling that arrives in 2027 and a president with every incentive to act alone, the next two years may prove more volatile than the first day's rally suggests.
-
Blue Wave Will Derail the AI Trade but Won't Dismantle the AI Era | Unhedged Position
The Democrats' sweep of the US Congress will see politics collide with economic forces both over the long and short term.
-
It's Time To Take The GST Council's Bet On Trust Global
Payment records can prove India's services exports, and clear, proportionate rules can bring foreign digital sellers into the tax net.
-
Opinion | India at 38: From Innovation Overperformer to Innovation Powerhouse
India now has 453 VC-backed deep science startups, 18 of them late-stage, after 117 percent growth since 2020. Laurus Labs, at USD 9.3 billion, is the most valuable deep science company in any middle-income economy outside China.
