T-bills, Govt Securities Trading On NSE Eased For Retail Investors

On Tuesday, NSE announced the introduction of trading in treasury bills (T-bills) and state development loans (SDLs) in its capital market segment. In line with equity trading, investors can now buy and sell T-bills and SDLs through NSE trading members, the stock exchange said in a statement.

It said dated government securities (G-secs) are already offered in the capital market segment.

T-bills and SDLs are both a part of the government securities group and have been widely accepted as a safer investment choice. T-bills are issued by the central government whereas SDLs are issued by state governments.

Both are reckoned as eligible investments for banks for the purpose of meeting SLR (Statutory Liquidity Ratio) requirements.

T-bills are issued in three maturities (91 days, 182 days and 364 days), whereas SDLs are largely issued in the range of 3 to 35 years, with the majority of issuance taking place in the 10-year maturity segment.

NSE had introduced an online platform to allow retail investors to invest in fresh or re-issuance (primary market) of G-secs and T-bills through the non-competitive bidding mechanism in 2018. This facility was extended to SDLs in November 2019.

In addition to G-secs, now T-bills and SDLs are also offered in the capital market segment, which provides an alternate exit route to these investors who have subscribed through the primary market.