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38 guidesClear explanations of Indian fixed income — written for investors, not experts.
How to Track Your Sovereign Gold Bond (SGB) Investment
Find your SGB series on NSE, read the last traded price, and see whether it sits above or below the IBJA gold rate RBI uses for redemptions — without guessing from a broker quote alone.
Read guide FundamentalsXIRR vs YTM: Why Your Bond Return Doesn't Match the Quoted Yield
Why a bond's quoted YTM and your own XIRR calculation on the same bond can differ — the compounding convention and day-count math behind the gap, with a worked example.
Read guide Practical GuidesTDS on Bond and NCD Interest in India: The 2026 Rules
Section 193 governs TDS on bond and NCD interest, not 194A — and the listed-demat exemption many guides still describe was withdrawn in 2023. What actually applies now, and how Form 15G/15H can avoid it.
Read guide ComparisonsTax-Free Bonds in India: How to Buy Them in 2026
No new tax-free bonds have been issued in India since 2016 — everything trades in the secondary market today. How to buy NHAI, REC, PFC, and IRFC tax-free bonds, and why your real yield is lower than the printed coupon.
Read guide FundamentalsHow RBI Repo Rate Changes Affect Bond Prices
The transmission mechanism from RBI's repo rate to bond yields, why prices move ahead of the actual policy announcement, and why longer-duration bonds swing more than short ones.
Read guide ComparisonsRBI Floating Rate Savings Bonds Explained
How RBI's Floating Rate Savings Bond works — the NSC-linked rate reset, 7-year lock-in, non-transferability — and why it isn't the same product as a Sovereign Gold Bond despite the similar name.
Read guide ComparisonsSGB vs Gold ETF: Which Suits You in 2026?
Liquidity, the 2026 Budget change to SGB secondary-market taxation, and the extra 2.5% SGB interest — a full comparison between Sovereign Gold Bonds and Gold ETFs.
Read guide Credit & RiskNCD Prospectus Red Flags: A Checklist Before You Apply
A practical, general-purpose checklist for reading an NCD prospectus or DRHP — security cover, related-party lending, promoter pledge, and contingent liabilities explained.
Read guide Credit & RiskAT1 Bonds Explained: The Perpetual Debt That Can Be Written Off
How Additional Tier 1 bank bonds work — the perpetual structure, discretionary coupons, the write-down/write-off trigger, and why Yes Bank's 2020 AT1 write-off matters for anyone holding one.
Read guide FundamentalsAccrued Interest and Dirty Price Explained
What accrued interest is, why you pay the dirty price when buying a bond mid-period, how to calculate it for Indian G-Secs and NCDs, and how it affects YTM.
Read guide StrategyHow to Build a Bond Ladder in India
A practical step-by-step guide to building a bond ladder with Indian G-Secs and NCDs — what it is, why investors use it, and how to construct one.
Read guide Tax & RegulationHow Bonds Are Taxed in India (2024-25 Rules)
Coupon income slabs, LTCG and STCG on listed and unlisted bonds, TDS rules, zero coupon bond taxation, tax-free bonds, and what changed in Budget 2024.
Read guide ComparisonsPSU Bonds vs Corporate Bonds: What's the Real Difference?
PSU bonds carry implicit government backing; corporate NCDs do not. How they differ in credit risk, yield spreads, liquidity, and when to choose which.
Read guide FundamentalsCallable and Puttable Bonds Explained
What callable and puttable bonds are, how embedded call/put options affect yield and price, yield-to-call vs YTM, and what to check in Indian bond offer documents. Includes AT1 bond warning.
Read guide Government SecuritiesSovereign Gold Bonds Explained
What SGBs are, how they differ from physical gold and gold ETFs, the 2.5% interest rate, capital gains exemption at maturity, and what to do now that new issuances have paused since FY24.
Read guide FundamentalsUnderstanding the Yield Curve (and Why It Matters for Bond Investors)
What the yield curve is, why it slopes upward normally, what an inverted curve signals, how India's G-Sec curve behaves, and what it means when choosing between short and long tenors.
Read guide Government SecuritiesTreasury Bills in India: 91, 182 & 364-Day T-Bills
How Indian T-Bills work: discount pricing, weekly Wednesday auctions, ₹10,000 minimum via RBI Retail Direct, auto-bidding, and how T-Bill yields compare structurally with bank FDs.
Read guide FundamentalsWhat Is a Credit Spread (and Why It Changes)?
Credit spread explained: yield premium of a corporate bond over a benchmark G-Sec, typical spreads by rating in India, why spreads widen in stress, and how to use spread data when evaluating bonds.
Read guide Credit & RiskWhat Happens When a Bond Defaults in India?
The sequence after a bond default: missed coupon, debenture trustee obligations, NCLT/IBC process, typical recovery rates by creditor class, case studies (IL&FS, DHFL, Yes Bank AT1), and what retail investors can do.
Read guide FundamentalsBond Convexity Explained
What convexity is, why it matters beyond duration, how positive convexity protects long-term bond investors, and callable vs non-callable bond behaviour in a rate-move scenario.
Read guide ComparisonsNCD vs Fixed Deposit: A Practical Comparison
Side-by-side of NCDs and FDs across safety, returns, liquidity, taxation, DICGC insurance, minimum investment, and when each makes sense for a retail investor in 2026.
Read guide Practical GuidesHow to Read a Bond Price Table
Decoding every column in a secondary market bond price table: clean price, dirty price, YTM, trade date, volume, ISIN, and how to use BSE/NSE bond data for your own research.
Read guide FundamentalsInflation and Bonds: How Rising Prices Erode Fixed Income Returns
The Fisher equation, why nominal yield can mislead, RBI's inflation targeting framework, and what Indian investors can do to inflation-proof a bond portfolio.
Read guide G-SecsRBI Retail Direct Explained: Account, G-Secs & T-Bills
What RBI Retail Direct is, how to open an RDG account, buy G-Secs and T-Bills, use auto-bidding, and how the portal differs from a broker or OBPP — a neutral mechanics guide.
Read guide FundamentalsBond Basics in 10 Minutes
Face value, coupon, YTM, accrued interest, credit ratings, and the one rule that ties it all together. A beginner’s guide to how bonds work in India.
Read guide ComparisonsFD vs G-Sec vs Corporate Bond in India — Compared
Side-by-side of bank FDs, G-Secs, and corporate bonds in India: safety, yield, liquidity, ticket size, taxation, and structural tradeoffs — facts only, not a product pitch.
Read guide Credit RatingsReading a CRISIL Rating Action
The rating scale from AAA to D, what upgrades, downgrades, watch, and withdrawals actually mean, and what a credit rating genuinely cannot tell you about an issuer.
Read guide FundamentalsWhat is YTM, Really?
Yield to Maturity explained without shortcuts: the discount-rate math, clean vs dirty price, the three assumptions it makes, where it breaks down, and how duration connects yield to price risk.
Read guide Practical GuidesHow to Buy a Corporate Bond Without Getting Burned
Where Indian corporate bonds trade, minimum ticket sizes, a pre-purchase checklist covering ratings, leverage, security, and liquidity, plus the red flags that warrant a second look.
Read guide FundamentalsWhy Bond Prices Fall When Interest Rates Rise
The clearest explanation of the bond price-rate relationship: a numerical example, duration explained simply, and what it means for Indian investors holding bonds through a rate cycle.
Read guide G-SecsG-Sec vs SDL vs T-Bill in India — Key Differences
How G-Secs, State Development Loans (SDLs), and Treasury Bills differ by issuer, tenor, yield, and liquidity — and how each is accessed through RBI Retail Direct.
Read guide Credit & RiskSecured vs Unsecured NCDs: Does the Collateral Actually Protect You?
What a debenture trustee actually does, how floating charges on NBFC receivables work in practice, what recovery looks like in real defaults, and why credit quality matters more than the security label.
Read guide Practical GuidesHow to Read a Bond Offer Document
The five sections that actually matter in an NCD prospectus, what genuine risk factors look like vs boilerplate, how to read the financials without being an accountant, and a 10-point pre-investment checklist.
Read guide Calculators & MathPost-Tax Yield: What Your Bond Actually Earns After Tax
How to calculate real after-tax return on Indian bonds and NCDs — the formula, impact across 10%, 20%, and 30% slabs, TDS rules, capital gains on early sales, and when tax-free bonds win.
Read guide FundamentalsBond Duration Explained Simply
Macaulay and modified duration in plain English — a step-by-step numerical example, why longer duration means bigger price swings, DV01 explained, and how to use duration to match your investment horizon.
Read guide Credit RatingsHow Credit Rating Agencies Work in India
CRISIL, ICRA, CARE Ratings, and India Ratings explained — the issuer-pays model, how ratings are assigned and monitored, what rating shopping looks like, and what a credit rating genuinely cannot tell you.
Read guide ComparisonsG-Secs vs FDs: Which Is Better for High-Tax-Bracket Investors?
A calm comparison of government bonds and fixed deposits for 20% and 30% slab investors — yield, safety, liquidity, TDS differences, and when FDs still win.
Read guide Credit & RiskHow to Evaluate an NCD Issuer's Financials
A practical guide to reading NBFC balance sheets before buying an NCD — leverage, Gross NPA ratio, capital adequacy, ALM risk, and five key questions to answer before committing capital.
Read guideAll articles are for general educational purposes only. Nothing here constitutes investment advice. Tax rules mentioned reflect provisions as of article publication date — verify current rules with a chartered accountant.