RBI Draft Rules: Now buying government bonds will be very easy, investment will start from Rs 10 thousand, RBI introduced new rules

Business Desk – RBI Draft Rules: Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has taken a big step towards making investment in Government Securities easier for common investors. RBI has released the Draft Master Direction of ‘Secondary Market Transactions in Government Securities, 2026’.

Its objective is to unify legacy rules, simplify digital trading and ensure direct access to the government bond market for retail investors. After the implementation of the new proposal, common investors will be able to buy and sell government bonds directly through RBI’s electronic trading platform Negotiated Dealing System-Order Matching (NDS-OM) in a secure manner.

Retail investors will get many easy options

According to the draft rules, retail investors will now be able to buy and sell government bonds in the secondary market through multiple mediums. This includes options like RBI Retail Direct Scheme, Depository Participant (DP) Demat Account of banks and Stock Broker Connect of SEBI registered depositories. The biggest relief is that investors who have their demat accounts in direct member banks of NDS-OM will be able to trade directly on the platform without any middleman.

You can start investing with just Rs 10,000

Keeping small investors in mind, RBI has also kept the minimum investment limit easy. According to the proposal, investment in Government Securities can be started with a face value of Rs 10,000. After this, every additional investment will be made in multiples of Rs 10,000. This will make it easier for small investors to enter the government bond market.

Digital trading facility will be available on web platform

Under the draft rules, direct member banks of NDS-OM will have to provide the facility of NDS-OM Web Module to their gilt account and demat account holders. Trading on this platform can be done on the basis of price or yield on working days in Mumbai from 9 am to 5 pm.

Information about OTC deals will have to be given within 15 minutes.

RBI has also proposed a new provision to increase transparency. Information about government bond deals done outside the NDS-OM platform i.e. Over the Counter (OTC) will have to be reported in the respective system within 15 minutes of finalization of the deal. This will strengthen both transparency and monitoring in the market.

T+1 settlement will make investment more secure

According to the draft rules, settlement of purchase and sale of government bonds will be on T+1 basis. This means that the transfer of both money and bonds will be completed by the next working day of the trade. This will make transactions more secure and the possibility of fraud will be significantly reduced.

Rules for advance trading and short selling will also become easier

RBI says that after the implementation of this draft master direction, many old and complex rules related to government bonds will come under a single framework. With this, the provisions related to Advance Trading, pre-issue buying and selling of bonds and Short Selling will also become clearer and easier than before.

What will be the benefit to common investors?

After the implementation of the new rules, common investors will get an easier, safer and digital system to buy government bonds. Lower investment limits, direct access to trading platforms, faster settlements and transparent process are expected to make investing in government securities more simple and convenient than before.