Sovereign gold bond also available through Retail Direct Portal: RBI

MUMBAI: The sovereign gold bond can now also be subscribed on the newly launched RBI Retail Direct Portal.

Subscription of the Sovereign Gold Bond Scheme 2021-22 - Series VIII is currently open.

“The Sovereign Gold Bond Scheme 2021-22 - Series VIII, which is open for subscription till December 3, 2021, is also available through RBI Retail Direct Portal at https://rbiretaildirect.org.in,” the central bank said on Thursday.

Till now, the bonds were sold through banks (except small finance banks and payment banks), Stock Holding Corporation of India Ltd (SHCIL), designated post offices, and recognised stock exchanges viz., National Stock Exchange of India Ltd and Bombay Stock Exchange Ltd.

Last month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had launched the RBI Retail Direct

Scheme, under which individuals can directly purchase treasury bills, dated securities, sovereign gold bonds (SGB) and state development loans (SDLs) from the primary as well as secondary market.

As per the scheme, retail investors (individuals) will have the facility to open an online Retail Direct Gilt Account (RDG Account) with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). These accounts can be linked to their savings bank accounts.

The RDG Accounts of individuals can be used to participate in issuance of government securities and secondary market operations through the screen based NDS-OM.

NDS-OM, a screen based electronic anonymous order matching system for secondary market trading in government securities owned by the RBI, is currently open only to institutions like banks, primary dealers, insurance companies and mutual funds.