Structural Reform : RBI gives retail investors direct access to G-Sec market

Mumbai : To encourage retail participation in the government securities (G-Sec) market, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday decided to give investors direct access to the G-Sec market.The major structural reform was announced by the RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das on Friday.According to Das, India will join a select group of countries offering such facility to investors.The new arrangement, Retail Direct, will allow direct access to retail investors via the RBI.This will allow such investors to open Gilt account with the Apex bank.Besides, Das said the move will help in smooth completion of the government’s borrowing target for 2021-22.According to the statement on Developmental and Regulatory Policies: “As part of continuing efforts to increase retail participation in government securities and to improve ease of access, it has been decided to move beyond aggregator model and provide retail investors online access to the government securities market – both primary and secondary – along with the facility to open their gilt securities account with the RBI.””Details of the facility will be issued separately.”