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Government Securities
A Government Security (G-Sec) is a tradable instrument issued by the Central Government or the State Governments. it’s better to recognize it as a government’s debt obligation. These are issued for both short-term and long-term.
Short-term Government Debt securities are instruments that have a maturity of less than one year. For instance, treasury bills, with original maturities of less than one year, are issued only by the central government through the RBI.
Long-term Government debt securities are instruments that have a maturity of more than one year. For instance, Government bonds or dated securities with an original maturity of one year or more, are issued by both the central and state governments.
Following are some of the important G-Secs that are issued by the Government,
Treasury Bills
Treasury bills or T-bills, which are money market instruments, are short-term debt instruments issued by the Government of India and are presently issued in three tenors, namely, 91 days, 182 days, and 364 days.
Treasury bills are zero coupon securities and pay no interest. Instead, they are issued at a discount and redeemed at the face value at maturity. For example, a 91-day Treasury bill of ₹100/- (face value) may be issued at say ₹ 98.20, that is, at a discount of say, ₹1.80, and would be redeemed on maturity at the face value of ₹100/-.
The return to the investors is the difference between the maturity value or the face value and the issue price.
Cash Management Bills (CMBs)
In 2010, the Government of India, in consultation with RBI introduced a new short-term instrument, known as Cash Management Bills (CMBs), to meet the temporary mismatches in the cash flow of the Government of India. The CMBs have the generic character of T-bills but are issued for maturities of less than 91 days.
Dated G-Secs
Dated G-Secs are securities that carry a fixed or floating coupon (interest rate) which is paid on the face value, on a half-yearly basis. Generally, the tenor of dated securities ranges from 5 years to 40 years.
Sovereign Gold Bond
SGBs are government securities denominated in grams of gold. They are substitutes for holding physical gold. Investors have to pay the issue price in cash and the bonds will be redeemed in cash on maturity. The Bond is issued by the Reserve Bank on behalf of the Government of India.
In addition, These Bonds bear interest at the rate of 2.50 percent (fixed rate) per annum on the amount of initial investment. Interest will be credited semi-annually to the bank account of the investor and the last interest will be payable on maturity along with the principal.
Likewise, many more Bonds are issued by the government from time to time such as Fixed-rate bonds, Floating rate bonds, Capital indexed bonds, Inflation-indexed bonds, etc. along with the interest payments.
Why invest in G-secs?
- G-Secs offer the maximum safety as they carry the Sovereign’s commitment to payment of interest and repayment of principal.
- It provides interest returns in the form of coupon payments
- G-Secs are available in a wide range of maturities from 91 days to as long as 40 years
- 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.
Factors influencing G-secs price
The prices of G-Secs are influenced by the interest rates in the economy and other macroeconomic factors, such as the expected rate of inflation, liquidity in the market, etc.
Developments in other markets like international bond markets, specifically the US Treasuries, foreign exchange, credit, commodity, and capital markets also affect the price of the G-Secs.
Policy actions by RBI, for instance, announcements regarding changes in policy interest rates like Repo Rate, Cash Reserve Ratio, Open Market Operations, etc. also affect the prices of G-Secs.
where do we get information about the price of a G-Sec?
Information on traded prices of securities is available on the RBI website http://www.rbi.org.in under the path Home → Financial Markets → Financial Markets Watch → Order Matching Segment of Negotiated Dealing System. This will show a screen containing the details of the latest trades undertaken in the market along with the prices.
How to invest in G-Sec?
The Reserve Bank of India has launched the RBI Retail Direct Portal, which allows ordinary investors to register an account and acquire government securities such as treasury bills and other bonds directly. or else Investors can also invest in G-secs through brokerages
Closure
The yield on government securities influences the economy by affecting the cost of funds, investment decisions, and overall market sentiment. Higher yields can attract capital inflow, impacting interest rates, currency value, and economic growth. Lower yields may encourage borrowing and spending, but also signal economic uncertainty. Central banks monitor these impacts and adjust policies to manage economic stability and inflation.