RBI Monetary Policy | Governor Das proposes Retail Direct app to ease buying G-Secs

RBI Retail Direct

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das on April 5 proposed to launch a mobile application of RBI Retail Direct Scheme for easier access to the portal.

The central bank launched the RBI Retail Direct scheme in November 2021 to help individuals invest in government securities through a direct platform.

As on April 1, total primary market subscription stood at Rs 4,222.98 crore, of which Rs 2844.32 crore is in treasury bills, followed by Rs 592.36 crore in government of India dated securities.

The secondary market traded volumes stood at Rs 643.44 crore. The highest traded volume is in government of India dated securities worth Rs 573.12 crore.

The total number of accounts opened on the platform is 1,19,669 as on April 1, since inception on November 12, 2021.

On March 13, Moneycontrol reported that retail investors' participation in the secondary market for government securities has remained muted in the last few years, as per Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) Retail Direct platform data.

Experts attributed this to the lack of awareness, lower liquidity in the odd lot segment, and complexity of using the secondary market trading platform.

The MPC left the key repo rate unchanged at 6.5 percent for the seventh time in a row, in line with the market expectations, with its focus firmly on bringing inflation down. It also left the stance unchanged as withdrawal of accommodation. The decisions were takes with a 5:1 majority.

The RBI Governor also announced that there will be no changes in the GDP growth forecast for FY25. The GDP growth estimate was retained at 7 percent for the current fiscal year. On the inflation front, the RBI MPC sees it at 4.5 percent for FY25.