Search for better return on investment is leading the discerning among the retail investors towards investment in Government Securities (G-Secs) via the Reserve Bank of India’s retail direct (RBI-RD) facility, going by the number of accounts opened, primary market subscriptions, traded volume and total holdings so far.

The total number of accounts opened on the central bank’s retail direct portal jumped about 54 per cent year-on-year (yoy) to stand at 3,61,402 as on April 27, 2026, against 2,35,256 as on April 28, 2025.

Primary market subscriptions (cumulative) for financial instruments such as Treasury Bills, Floating Rate Savings Bonds, Central G-Secs and State G-Secs rose 35 per cent y-o-y to ₹8,736 crore as on April 27, 2026 (from ₹ 6,449 crore as on April 28, 2025.

Total traded volume in the aforementioned instruments soared 295 per cent yoy to ₹9,167 crore from ₹2,322 crore. Total holdings of these instruments rose 50 per cent yoy to ₹3,425 crore from ₹2,283 crore.

That these instruments are attractive when it comes to fetching better yields can be gauged from the fact that while a 5-10 year term deposit placed with State Bank of India will earn a depositor 6.05 per cent interest, investment in a 10-year Central G-Sec and a 10-year State G-Sec will fetch a return of 6.48 per cent (semi-annual) and about 7.70 per cent, respectively.

Venkatakrishnan Srinivasan, Founder & Managing Partner, Rockfort Fincap LLP, opined that RBI Retail Direct is increasingly emerging as a preferred investment avenue for retail investors as it brings together sovereign safety, better yields, zero cost, and a fully digital, transparent framework.

“Recent State Development Loan (SDL) auctions, particularly for long-tenor securities above 10 years, have been clearing in the 7.70%–7.80% semi annual range, offering a meaningful yield pickup over bank fixed deposits, which are largely below 7%.

“Importantly, these are sovereign-backed, zero-credit-risk instruments serviced directly by the RBI, giving investors the highest level of safety and payment assurance,” he said.

Venkatakrishnan emphasised that RBI Retail Direct is enabling retail investors to access institutional-grade fixed income opportunities with higher yields, liquidity, and complete transparency — without taking any additional credit risk. This makes it a structurally superior and increasingly preferred alternative to traditional products such as bank FDs and small savings schemes.

The ‘RBI Retail Direct’ scheme was launched on November 12, 2021. to bring G-secs within easy reach of the common man by simplifying the process of investment. Under the scheme, retail individual investors can open a Retail Direct Gilt (RDG) Account with the RBI using a dedicated online portal.

Further, a ‘RBI Retail Direct’ mobile application was launched two years ago, offering retail investors a single sign-on facility for seamless navigation between primary market and secondary market modules of the application.

Last year, unified payments interface (UPI) single-block-and-single-debit payment mode (UPI mandate) was introduced to enable investors to pre-authorise transactions and block funds in their accounts for debits to be initiated as per the scheduled timeline for placement of bids in primary auctions.

Published on May 5, 2026

India’s ambassador to the US Vinay Mohan Kwatra met Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro and discussed ways to strengthen economic and technological relations.

“I look forward to continuing to work together to attract more investment, expand our talent pipelines, and create more good-paying jobs for both Pennsylvanians and Indians alike,” Shapiro said in a post on X about his meeting with Kwatra in Harrisburg on Monday.

Kwatra briefed the Pennsylvania Governor on the infrastructure, digital and manufacturing transformation underway in the rapidly growing Indian economy, the Indian embassy said in a post on X.

The Ambassador also thanked Shapiro for his strong support to the Indian American community in Pennsylvania.

Published on May 5, 2026

Mike Wirth, Chairman of the Board and CEO of Chevron Corporation
| Photo Credit:
MIKE BLAKE

Chevron Chairman and
CEO Mike Wirth said on ​Monday that physical shortages in oil
supply would ‌begin appearing around the world because of ​the
closure of the Strait of ⁠Hormuz, through which 20% of global
crude supply passes.

Economies will begin shrinking, first in Asia, as demand
adjusts ‌to reduced supply with the strait still closed because
of the US-Israeli war ‌with Iran, Wirth said during a
discussion ‌sponsored ⁠by the Milken Institute.
“We will start ⁠to see physical shortages,” Wirth said, noting
that surplus supply in commercial markets, tankers in so-called
shadow fleets avoiding sanctions, ​and national strategic
reserves ‌were being absorbed.

“Demand needs to move to meet supply,” he said. “Economies
are going to have to slow.”

Asia is most heavily dependent ‌on the Gulf’s oil production
and refineries, with ​Europe likely to be affected next, Wirth
said.

Wirth noted that the United ⁠States, a net exporter of
crude, would be less affected than other parts of the globe, ‌but
eventually the effects would be felt there as well. He pointed
out that the last scheduled shipment of oil from the Gulf was
being offloaded at the Port of Long Beach, which supplies Los
Angeles and southern ‌California.

The overall effect of the Hormuz closure is “potentially as
big ​as in the 1970s,” Wirth said. Two major supply disruptions
in that decade ⁠shook economies around the world, leading to fuel
rationing ⁠and long lines at retail pumps.

Because of the Hormuz closure, Spirit Airlines ‌went out of
business over the weekend as the cost of jet fuel surged ​amid
tighter supplies.

Published on May 5, 2026