RBI Retail Direct: How to Buy Government Bonds and T-Bills Yourself (2026)
Last updated: 13 October 2026
Quick answer: RBI Retail Direct is the RBI's free platform for individuals to buy government securities directly. You open a Retail Direct Gilt (RDG) account online with PAN, KYC and a bank account, then bid in T-bill, G-sec and state bond auctions from ₹10,000 at the same price as institutions. You can also buy RBI Floating Rate Bonds and sell G-secs on NDS-OM.
Last updated: 13 October 2026 Quick answer: RBI Retail Direct is the RBI's free platform for individuals to buy government securities directly. You open a Retail Direct Gilt (RDG) account online with PAN, KYC and a bank account, then bid in T-bill, G-sec and state bond auctions from ₹10,000 at the same price as institutions. You can also buy RBI Floating Rate Bonds and sell G-secs on NDS-OM. Key takeaways Cost: no fee to open or maintain the account; only payment gateway charges, if any. Minimum: ₹10,000 face value per bid; up to ₹2 crore per security in each dated G-sec auction. Products: T-bills, central G-secs, SDLs and RBI Floating Rate Savings Bonds (8.05%); no new Sovereign Gold Bonds. Convenience: mobile app since May 2024; T-bill auto-bidding since August 2025. Tax: interest and T-bill gains are taxed at your slab rate; G-sec interest generally has no TDS. When the RBI auctions a 15-year government bond, banks and insurers bid crores. Since November 2021, a salaried saver in Wakad can bid in the same auction with ₹10,000, from a phone, and pay nothing to the RBI for the privilege. That platform is RBI Retail Direct . This guide explains how it works, what you can buy, current yields after the October 2026 rate hike, how to sell before maturity, how the income is taxed, and when it is better to use a mutual fund or FD instead. What is RBI Retail Direct? RBI Retail Direct is a scheme that lets individual investors open a gilt account directly with the Reserve Bank of India and buy government securities in both the primary (auction) and secondary markets. It was announced in February 2021 and launched by the Prime Minister on 12 November 2021. Your securities sit in a Retail Direct Gilt (RDG) account in the RBI's own books, not with a broker or depository. Interest and maturity proceeds go straight to your linked bank account. The portal is rbiretaildirect.org.in, and an Android and iOS app followed on 28 May 2024. Who can open an account? Resident individuals with a rupee savings bank account in India, a PAN, a KYC document, an email ID and a mobile number. Non-resident Indians who are eligible to invest in government securities under FEMA, 1999, subject to those rules. Joint holding with one other eligible individual is allowed. Companies, HUFs and trusts cannot use it. How to open an RBI Retail Direct account Four steps to open an RBI Retail Direct Gilt account online Register on the portal or app with your name, PAN, mobile number and email, verified by OTP. Complete KYC using an officially valid document; the account is opened after verification. Link your savings account , which is used for payments, interest and maturity proceeds. Add up to two nominees , so securities can be transmitted easily after death. Log in and bid : the dashboard shows upcoming auctions in an "auction watch" section. There is no charge for opening or maintaining the account, and no fee on primary market bids. What can you buy on RBI Retail Direct? Comparison of T-bills, G-secs, SDLs and savings bonds available on RBI Retail Direct Security Tenor How you earn Usual auction day Minimum Treasury bills (T-bills) 91, 182, 364 days Bought at a discount, repaid at face value Wednesday, every week ₹10,000 Central government dated securities (G-secs) About 2 to 50 years Fixed coupon every six months Usually Friday ₹10,000 State Development Loans (SDLs) Usually 5 to 30 years Fixed coupon every six months, often a little above G-secs Usually Tuesday ₹10,000 RBI Floating Rate Savings Bonds 2020 (T) 7 years 8.05% for Jul-Dec 2026, reset half-yearly Open on working days ₹1,000 Sovereign Gold Bonds 8 years No new issues since February 2024 - - RBI Floating Rate Savings Bonds were added to the portal in October 2023. They suit retirees who want a sovereign rate above most FDs and will not need the money for years; our comparison of senior citizen FDs, SCSS and RBI bonds (/insights/senior-citizen-fd-vs-scss-vs-rbi-floating-rate-bonds) covers the lock-in rules. Gold buyers should read SGB alternatives (/insights/sovereign-gold-bonds-discontinued-alternatives) , since no new tranches are available. How do auctions work for retail investors? Retail investors bid under the non-competitive bidding facility. You do not quote a price or yield. Instead, you state the amount, and you are allotted at the weighted average price that emerges from the competitive bids of banks and institutions. Bid size: ₹10,000 face value and multiples, up to ₹2 crore per security per auction for dated securities. One bid per security per auction. Allocation: retail bids share a reserved portion of up to 5% of the notified amount; if oversubscribed, allotment is pro rata. Payment: net banking or UPI at the time of bidding; refunds for unallotted amounts return to your bank account. Credit: securities reach your RDG account on the settlement day. Retail participation is still small. In the 9 October 2026 auction of the 7.06% GS 2041, non-competitive bids accepted totalled about ₹85 crore against a notified ₹23,000 crore, so retail investors are rarely rationed. T-bill auto-bidding Since August 2025, Retail Direct offers an auto-bidding facility for T-bills . You can schedule bids in future auctions and choose to reinvest maturity proceeds automatically, which works much like a SIP in short-term government paper. It removes the chore of logging in every week. RBI Retail Direct yields in October 2026 The RBI raised the repo rate to 5.50% on 7 October 2026. In the 9 October auction, the 7.06% GS 2041 was sold at a cut-off yield of 7.49%, and the 7.43% GS 2076 at 7.80%. The 10-year benchmark was around 7.25% after the policy. Bar chart of RBI Retail Direct T-bill and G-sec auction cut-off yields in August and October 2026 T-bill yields in late August were 5.26% (91 days), 5.62% (182 days) and 5.80% (364 days). Those auctions came before the hike, so check the latest cut-off on the RBI website before you bid. For how the hike affects bond prices more broadly, see our note on the October 2026 repo rate hike (/insights/rbi-repo-rate-hike-october-2026-emi-fd-debt-funds) . Worked example: a 364-day T-bill At the 27 August cut-off price of ₹94.535, a ₹1 lakh face value 364-day T-bill cost ₹94,535. You receive ₹1,00,000 at maturity, a gain of ₹5,465, or about 5.80% annualised. There is no fee to the RBI and no expense ratio. Worked example: a 15-year G-sec Buying ₹5 lakh face value of the 7.06% GS 2041 at ₹96.18 costs about ₹4,80,900, plus any accrued interest. You receive ₹35,300 a year in two half-yearly coupons of ₹17,650 and ₹5,00,000 at maturity in 2041. Held to maturity, that locks in roughly 7.49% a year, sovereign-backed. The catch is price risk if you sell early. Our calculation suggests that if 15-year yields rise by one percentage point, this bond's price would fall about 8.5%, roughly ₹41,000 on this holding. If yields fall by one point, it would gain about 9.6%. Can you sell government bonds before maturity? Yes, for T-bills, G-secs and SDLs. Retail Direct connects to NDS-OM , the RBI's electronic trading platform, through its odd-lot and request-for-quote (RFQ) segments. When you sell, the securities are blocked until settlement, and proceeds are credited to your linked bank account on settlement day. Be realistic about liquidity. Recently issued benchmark G-secs trade actively; older or less popular securities and many SDLs may find few retail buyers, and you may have to accept a lower price. RBI Floating Rate Savings Bonds cannot be sold at all. The RDG account also lets you pledge or lien-mark holdings and gift securities to another Retail Direct investor. How are Retail Direct investments taxed? Income How it is taxed TDS? G-sec and SDL coupons Slab rate, in the year received Generally no TDS on central and state government securities T-bill gain (discount to face value) Slab rate No Sale of a G-sec held 12 months or less Short-term capital gain at slab rate No Sale of a G-sec held over 12 months Long-term capital gain, 12.5% without indexation No RBI Floating Rate Savings Bond interest Slab rate Yes, deducted by the agency Because government securities generally pay coupons without TDS, the tax falls on you. Add the income to your return and, if it is large, include it in your advance tax (/insights/advance-tax-for-investors) instalments to avoid interest. Gains on selling a long-held G-sec can attract the 12.5% long-term rate, unlike debt mutual funds bought after April 2023, whose gains are always taxed at slab. Confirm the treatment for your case with a tax professional. Retail Direct vs gilt funds vs FDs: which should you use? Comparison of treasury bills on RBI Retail Direct with liquid funds and bank FDs for short-term savings Factor G-sec via Retail Direct Gilt / target maturity fund Bank FD Credit risk Sovereign Sovereign (gilt funds) DICGC to ₹5 lakh, then the bank Cost Nil Expense ratio, often 0.1-0.5% for index or direct plans Nil Return if held to maturity Known at purchase Close to the portfolio YTM for target maturity funds Known at purchase Exit before maturity Sell on NDS-OM; liquidity varies Redeem any working day Break with penalty Reinvesting coupons Manual Automatic Automatic in cumulative FDs Tax on gains Slab, or 12.5% LTCG after 12 months on sale Slab rate Slab rate, yearly Retail Direct makes most sense when you want a specific maturity, hold it to the end, and value zero cost and sovereign safety. Funds win on convenience, automatic reinvestment and easy exit. Our guides on gilt, corporate bond and banking and PSU funds (/insights/gilt-corporate-bond-banking-psu-funds) and debt funds in a rising-rate cycle (/insights/debt-funds-rising-interest-rates-2026) cover the fund route, and Bonds 101 (/insights/bonds-101-india) explains how bond prices and yields move. For short-term money, compare a T-bill with an overnight or liquid fund (/insights/overnight-liquid-funds) and with bank and small finance bank FDs (/insights/small-finance-bank-fd-dicgc-insurance) . In August 2026, a one-year SBI FD at 6.25% paid more than a 364-day T-bill at 5.80%, though the FD's interest is taxed every year and carries bank risk above ₹5 lakh. Five mistakes to avoid on Retail Direct Buying a 30-year bond for a five-year goal. Match the maturity to when you need the money, or accept price risk. Ignoring accrued interest. Secondary purchases include interest accrued since the last coupon. Forgetting the tax. No TDS does not mean no tax. Assuming easy exit. Odd-lot liquidity is thin for many securities. Skipping nomination. Add up to two nominees when you open the account. If you would rather have help building a bond ladder, see bonds at Money n Wealth (/products/bonds) . Related reading Bonds 101: G-secs, corporate and tax-free bonds (/insights/bonds-101-india) How to choose a debt mutual fund: three checks (/insights/how-to-choose-debt-mutual-fund-three-checks) FD vs debt mutual funds after tax (/insights/fixed-deposit-vs-debt-mutual-funds-which-gives-better-post-tax-returns-now) Lock in FDs now or wait for December? (/insights/lock-in-fd-now-or-wait-rate-hike-2026) NRI taxation in India (/insights/nri-taxation-india-guide) Frequently Asked Questions Is RBI Retail Direct free? Yes. The RBI charges nothing to open or maintain a Retail Direct Gilt account, and there is no fee on bids in primary auctions. The only possible cost is a payment gateway charge, if your bank or the payment route levies one. Secondary market trades on NDS-OM are priced by the market, so the buy-sell spread is your main hidden cost. What is the minimum investment on RBI Retail Direct? The minimum bid for T-bills, central government securities and State Development Loans is ₹10,000 face value, in multiples of ₹10,000. RBI Floating Rate Savings Bonds can be bought from ₹1,000. In dated G-sec auctions, a single retail bid can go up to ₹2 crore per security under the non-competitive bidding facility. Can NRIs use RBI Retail Direct? Non-resident Indians who are eligible to invest in government securities under FEMA, 1999 can open an account, subject to those regulations. They need a rupee bank account in India, PAN, KYC documents, an email ID and a mobile number. RBI Floating Rate Savings Bonds, however, are open only to residents, so NRIs cannot buy them. Is TDS deducted on G-sec interest from Retail Direct? Interest on central and state government securities is generally paid without TDS, but it is fully taxable at your slab rate. You must report it in your income tax return and pay advance tax if your total liability crosses the threshold. RBI Floating Rate Savings Bonds are an exception: tax is deducted on their interest. How do I sell bonds bought through RBI Retail Direct? Place a sell order through the secondary market section of the portal or app. It routes to NDS-OM's odd-lot or request-for-quote segment. The securities are blocked until settlement, and sale proceeds are credited to your linked bank account on settlement day. Liquidity varies, so newer benchmark bonds are easier to sell than older ones. Can I buy Sovereign Gold Bonds on RBI Retail Direct now? No new Sovereign Gold Bonds have been issued since the February 2024 tranche, so there is nothing to subscribe to. Existing SGBs remain valid until maturity, and older tranches trade on stock exchanges through a demat account. For new gold exposure, consider gold ETFs or gold funds instead. What is T-bill auto-bidding on Retail Direct? Introduced in August 2025, auto-bidding lets you schedule bids in future T-bill auctions and reinvest maturity proceeds automatically. It works like a systematic investment plan in 91-, 182- or 364-day government paper, so you do not have to log in for every weekly auction. You can stop or change the instruction on the portal. Sources: RBI, Retail Direct Scheme (https://www.rbi.org.in/Scripts/BS_PressReleaseDisplay.aspx?prid=51883) ; RBI, non-competitive bidding facility (Nov 2021) (https://www.rbi.org.in/Scripts/NotificationUser.aspx?Id=12193) ; RBI, FRSB on Retail Direct (https://rbi.org.in/scripts/BS_PressReleaseDisplay.aspx?prid=56614) ; RBI, FRSB rate Jul-Dec 2026 (https://www.rbi.org.in/scripts/BS_PressReleaseDisplay.aspx?prid=63065) ; RBI, T-bill auction result (27 Aug 2026) (https://rbi.org.in/SCRIPTS/BS_PressReleaseDisplay.aspx?prid=63450) ; RBI, G-sec auction result (9 Oct 2026) (https://www.rbi.org.in/Scripts/BS_PressReleaseDisplay.aspx?prid=63775) ; Business Standard, T-bill auto-bidding (https://www.business-standard.com/amp/markets/capital-market-news/rbi-introduces-auto-bidding-facilities-in-rbi-retail-direct-for-investment-and-re-investment-in-t-bills-125080600420_1.html) ; Business Standard, Retail Direct app launch (https://www.business-standard.com/amp/finance/personal-finance/rbi-unveils-pravaah-portal-retail-direct-mobile-app-and-fintech-repository-124052900591_1.html) . Worked examples are Money n Wealth calculations. Want a government bond ladder built around your goals? Choosing maturities, funds or direct bonds depends on your timeline and tax slab. Talk to Money n Wealth (/contact) for a free portfolio review. This article is for general educational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Figures and examples are illustrative. Please consult a qualified financial adviser for guidance specific to your situation. Money n Wealth (Predics Fintech Services Pvt Ltd) is an AMFI-registered Mutual Fund Distributor (ARN-121995) and APMI-registered PMS Distributor (APRN07444); it is not a SEBI-registered investment adviser and may earn distribution commission on investments made through it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is RBI Retail Direct free?
Yes. The RBI charges nothing to open or maintain a Retail Direct Gilt account, and there is no fee on bids in primary auctions. The only possible cost is a payment gateway charge, if your bank or the payment route levies one. Secondary market trades on NDS-OM are priced by the market, so the buy-sell spread is your main hidden cost.
What is the minimum investment on RBI Retail Direct?
The minimum bid for T-bills, central government securities and State Development Loans is ₹10,000 face value, in multiples of ₹10,000. RBI Floating Rate Savings Bonds can be bought from ₹1,000. In dated G-sec auctions, a single retail bid can go up to ₹2 crore per security under the non-competitive bidding facility.
Can NRIs use RBI Retail Direct?
Non-resident Indians who are eligible to invest in government securities under FEMA, 1999 can open an account, subject to those regulations. They need a rupee bank account in India, PAN, KYC documents, an email ID and a mobile number. RBI Floating Rate Savings Bonds, however, are open only to residents, so NRIs cannot buy them.
Is TDS deducted on G-sec interest from Retail Direct?
Interest on central and state government securities is generally paid without TDS, but it is fully taxable at your slab rate. You must report it in your income tax return and pay advance tax if your total liability crosses the threshold. RBI Floating Rate Savings Bonds are an exception: tax is deducted on their interest.
How do I sell bonds bought through RBI Retail Direct?
Place a sell order through the secondary market section of the portal or app. It routes to NDS-OM's odd-lot or request-for-quote segment. The securities are blocked until settlement, and sale proceeds are credited to your linked bank account on settlement day. Liquidity varies, so newer benchmark bonds are easier to sell than older ones.
Can I buy Sovereign Gold Bonds on RBI Retail Direct now?
No new Sovereign Gold Bonds have been issued since the February 2024 tranche, so there is nothing to subscribe to. Existing SGBs remain valid until maturity, and older tranches trade on stock exchanges through a demat account. For new gold exposure, consider gold ETFs or gold funds instead.
What is T-bill auto-bidding on Retail Direct?
Introduced in August 2025, auto-bidding lets you schedule bids in future T-bill auctions and reinvest maturity proceeds automatically. It works like a systematic investment plan in 91-, 182- or 364-day government paper, so you do not have to log in for every weekly auction. You can stop or change the instruction on the portal.
Want a government bond ladder built around your goals?
Choosing maturities, funds or direct bonds depends on your timeline and tax slab. Talk to Money n Wealth for a free portfolio review.
