Government Securities (G-Secs)

Context:

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has given small investors direct access to its government securities trading platform.

• Now, Retail investors can directly open their gilt accounts with RBI, and trade in government securities.

What is a Bond?

A bond is a debt instrument in which an investor loans money to an entity (typically corporate or government) which borrows the funds for a defined period of time at a variable or fixed interest rate. Bonds are used by companies, municipalities, states and sovereign governments to raise money to finance a variety of projects and activities. Owners of bonds are debt holders, or creditors, of the issuer.

What is a Government Security (G-Sec)?

A Government Security (G-Sec) is a tradeable instrument issued by the Central Government or the State Governments. It acknowledges the Government’s debt obligation. Such securities are short term (usually called treasury bills, with original maturities of less than one year) or long term (usually called Government bonds or dated securities with original maturity of one year or more). In India, the Central Government issues both, treasury bills and bonds or dated securities while the State Governments issue only bonds or dated securities, which are called the State Development Loans (SDLs). G-Secs carry practically no risk of default and, hence, are called risk-free gilt-edged instruments.

Why should one invest in G-Secs?

Holding of cash in excess of the day-to-day needs (idle funds) does not give any return. Investment in gold has attendant problems in regard to appraising its purity, valuation, warehousing and safe custody, etc. In comparison, investing in G-Secs has the following advantages:

• Besides providing a return in the form of coupons (interest), G-Secs offer the maximum safety as they carry the Sovereign’s commitment for payment of interest and repayment of principal.
• They can be held in book entry, i.e., dematerialized/ scripless form, thus, obviating the need for safekeeping. They can also be held in physical form.
• G-Secs are available in a wide range of maturities from 91 days to as long as 40 years to suit the duration of varied liability structure of various institutions.
• G-Secs can be sold easily in the secondary market to meet cash requirements.
• G-Secs can also be used as collateral to borrow funds in the repo market.
• Securities such as State Development Loans (SDLs) and Special Securities (Oil bonds, UDAY bonds etc) provide attractive yields.
• The settlement system for trading in G-Secs, which is based on Delivery versus Payment (DvP), is a very simple, safe and efficient system of settlement. The DvP mechanism ensures transfer of securities by the seller of securities simultaneously with transfer of funds from the buyer of the securities, thereby mitigating the settlement risk.
• G-Sec prices are readily available due to a liquid and active secondary market and a transparent price dissemination mechanism.
• Besides banks, insurance companies and other large investors, smaller investors like Co-operative banks, Regional Rural Banks, Provident Funds are also required to statutory hold G-Secs

Why the current proposal?

• The g-sec market is dominated by institutional investors such as banks, mutual funds, and insurance companies. These entities trade in lot sizes of Rs 5 crore or more.
• So, there is no liquidity in the secondary market for small investors who would want to trade in smaller lot sizes.
• In other words, there is no easy way for them to exit their investments.
• Thus, currently, direct g-secs trading is not popular among retail investors.

What will the current proposal do?

• The details are not out yet. However, the RBI’s intention is to make the whole process of g-sec trading smoother for small investors.
• By allowing people to open accounts in RBI’s e-kuber system, it is hoping to create a market of small investors who will invest in these instruments.

Why such a move?

• The RBI is the debt manager for the government.
• In the forthcoming financial year, the government plans to borrow Rs 12 lakh crore from the market.
• When the government demands so much money, the price of money (i.e., the interest rate) will move up.
• It is in the government’s and RBI’s interest to bring this down.
• That can only happen by broadening the base of investors and making it easier for them to buy g-secs.