Government Securities on WebNotes

How to bid in an RBI primary bond auction via Zerodha

Tue, 12 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

This guide explains how retail investors can participate in the Reserve Bank of India’s primary bond auctions for Government Securities (G-Secs) and Treasury Bills (T-Bills). Primary auction participation allows investors to receive freshly issued government securities at the price determined by the institutional market, without any secondary market premium or broker markup on the price.

There are two routes for retail investors:

Zerodha Kite: Non-competitive bid submission via NSE’s scheme, aggregated by Zerodha. Requires only an existing Zerodha account.
RBI Retail Direct portal (rbiretaildirect.org.in): Direct non-competitive bid submission without a broker. Requires a separate Retail Direct Gilt Account (RDGA) at RBI. Zero brokerage; direct settlement into the SGL-linked demat.

This guide covers both routes, with the Kite procedure detailed more extensively given the Zerodha context. The encyclopedic overview of G-Secs on Zerodha and T-Bills on Zerodha provides background on the instruments themselves. The secondary market alternative is covered in How to buy a G-Sec on Zerodha Kite and How to buy a T-Bill on Zerodha.

How to buy a G-Sec on Zerodha Kite

Tue, 12 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

This guide walks through buying Government Securities (G-Secs) in the exchange-traded secondary market through Zerodha’s Kite platform. The secondary market route allows retail investors to buy existing G-Secs without participating in a primary RBI auction. For primary auction participation, a separate RBI Retail Direct account is required; that process is covered in How to bid in an RBI primary bond auction via Zerodha.

The encyclopedic overview of G-Secs on Zerodha covers types of government securities, yield mechanics, duration risk, and tax treatment. This article focuses on the step-by-step procedure for the secondary market.

How to buy a T-Bill on Zerodha

Tue, 12 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

This guide explains how to buy Treasury Bills (T-Bills) through Zerodha’s Kite platform. T-Bills are short-duration sovereign instruments issued by the Government of India and managed by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). They are zero-coupon instruments: there is no periodic interest payment; instead, the government issues them at a discount to face value and redeems them at face value on the maturity date. The difference between the purchase price and Rs 25,000 constitutes the investor’s return.

How to track G-Sec coupon receipts on Console

Tue, 12 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

This guide explains how to track coupon payments from Government Securities (G-Secs), Sovereign Gold Bonds (SGBs), and T-Bill maturity proceeds when holding these instruments through Zerodha’s demat account. The single most common point of confusion for new G-Sec investors on Zerodha is that coupon payments do not appear in the Kite portfolio or the Zerodha trading ledger, they are credited directly by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to the investor’s primary bank account.

G-Sec on Zerodha

Mon, 11 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Government Securities (G-Secs) are sovereign debt instruments issued by the Government of India through the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to finance fiscal deficits. They are considered the safest category of fixed-income instrument in India, carrying zero credit risk as they are backed by the sovereign guarantee of the Government of India. Zerodha provides retail investor access to G-Secs through two routes: exchange-traded secondary market G-Secs via Kite, and a linkage to the RBI’s Retail Direct scheme for primary auction participation.

T-Bills on Zerodha

Mon, 11 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Treasury Bills (T-Bills) are short-term Government Securities issued by the Government of India through the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) with maturities of 91 days, 182 days, and 364 days. They are zero-coupon instruments: issued at a discount to face value and redeemed at face value (Rs 100 per unit) at maturity. The discount represents the investor’s return. T-Bills carry sovereign guarantee and zero credit risk. Zerodha provides access to T-Bills through the exchange-traded debt market on Kite and directs investors to the RBI Retail Direct portal for primary auction participation.