RBI Retail Direct Scheme Market Making for Primary Dealers
Current · Source: Reserve Bank of India · RBI/2021-22/147 · issued 04 Jan 2022 · ~2 min read
Quick answerRBI issues Market Making Scheme for Primary Dealers to provide buy/sell quotes on NDS-OM for Retail Direct Gilt Account holders, aiming to ensure liquidity. PDs may provide quotes throughout market hours or via time slots, with simplified KYC for RFQ trades. Incentives include monthly security switches with RBI for illiquid/semi-liquid securities acquired from RDG account holders.
The rule, in the simplest words
Primary Dealers (special banks that buy and sell government bonds) must give buy and sell prices on the NDS-OM (a computer system for trading bonds) for retail investors (regular people) who have a Retail Direct Gilt Account (a special account for buying government bonds).
Primary Dealers can either give prices all day or take turns in time slots decided by the Primary Dealers Association of India (a group of these banks).
When a retail investor asks for a price using the RFQ (Request for Quotes, a way to ask for a price), the Primary Dealer does not need to check the investor's identity again because the RBI already did that when the investor opened their account.
Once a month, Primary Dealers can swap hard-to-sell bonds they bought from retail investors for easy-to-sell bonds through a special trade with the RBI.
How it plays out — a real example
A KYC & compliance officer in Indore, who also works as a Primary Dealer, logs into the NDS-OM system every morning. He sees a buy request from a retail investor for a government bond. Because the investor's identity was already verified when they opened their Retail Direct Gilt Account, he skips the extra paperwork and provides a price quote right away, making the trade smooth and fast.
What changed
RBI issued a formal Market Making Scheme under the Retail Direct Scheme, dated January 4, 2022. It requires Primary Dealers to provide quotes on odd-lot and RFQ segments of NDS-OM for retail investors, with obligations described as 'may' rather than mandatory. PDs shall rely on the KYC verification of RDG account holders done under the retail direct scheme, eliminating duplicate verification.
What it means for you
Banks acting as Primary Dealers are expected to provide two-way quotes for government securities to retail investors, boosting secondary market liquidity. The simplified KYC reduces compliance burden for PDs when dealing with RDG account holders. Monthly switch windows with RBI allow PDs to exchange illiquid/semi-liquid securities acquired from RDG account holders for liquid ones, managing inventory risk.
What you must do
Ensure your PD desk provides buy/sell quotes on NDS-OM odd-lot and RFQ segments throughout market hours for liquid securities, or as per time slots allocated by the Primary Dealers Association of India.
Coordinate with Primary Dealers Association of India for time slot allocation if not providing continuous quotes.
Accept the KYC verification done under the Retail Direct Scheme for RDG account holders; do not re-verify for RFQ transactions.
Utilize the monthly special switch window with RBI to swap illiquid/semi-liquid securities acquired from RDG account holders for liquid ones.
Who it affects
All Primary Dealers authorized by RBI, Retail Direct Gilt Account holders
❓ Common questions
What are the key obligations for Primary Dealers under this scheme?
PDs may provide buy/sell quotes on NDS-OM odd-lot and RFQ segments for liquid securities throughout market hours, or as per time slots allocated by the Primary Dealers Association. They must respond to RFQ requests from RDG account holders with market-relevant quotes.
How is KYC simplified for transactions with RDG account holders?
PDs shall rely on the KYC verification done under the Retail Direct Scheme. No additional KYC is required for transacting with RDG account holders on the RFQ segment of NDS-OM, as per Rule 9 of the Prevention of Money-Laundering Rules.
What incentives do Primary Dealers get for fulfilling market making obligations?
PDs get a monthly special switch window with RBI to exchange illiquid/semi-liquid securities acquired from RDG account holders for liquid securities at FBIL/market prices. Successful trades also count toward annual targets for PDs.
📜 Read the original circular — full text as issued by RBI
RBI/2021-22/147
IDMD.PDRD.No.S1617/03.64.023/2021-22
January 04, 2022
All Primary Dealers
Dear Sir/Madam
Retail Direct Scheme – Market Making
RBI Retail Direct Scheme has been launched on November 12, 2021 for providing one-stop access to facilitate investment in Government Securities by retail investors. In this connection, to provide liquidity in the secondary market, a market making arrangement, wherein the Primary Dealers shall be present on the NDS-OM platform (odd-lot and Request for Quotes segments) throughout market hours and respond to buy/sell requests from Retail Direct Gilt Account Holders (RDGAHs), is enclosed as Annex .
Yours faithfully
(Latha Vishwanath)
General Manager
Encl: as above
RBI Retail Direct Scheme – Market Making
In exercise of the powers conferred under Section 29(2) of the Government Securities Act 2006, the Reserve Bank of India, hereby, issues the following Market Making Scheme:
1. Objective of the Scheme
To promote retail participation in Government Securities by providing prices/quotes to Retail Direct Gilt (RDG) account holders enabling them to buy/sell securities under the RBI Retail Direct Scheme.
2. Definitions
In this scheme, unless the context otherwise requires:
“Government Securities”, for the purpose of this scheme, mean securities issued in form of stock by credit to SGL/CSGL account maintained with RBI as defined under Section 3(iii) of Government Securities Act, 2006;
“Liquid Securities” means a security identified and published by Fixed Income Money Market and Derivatives Association of India (FIMMDA)/ Financial Benchmarks India Limited (FBIL) as a ‘liquid security’ for the purpose of short sale transactions.
“NDS-OM” or Negotiated Dealing Segment – Order Matching means RBI’s screen based, anonymous electronic order matching system for trading in Government Securities in the secondary market;
“Odd-lot segment” refers to the odd-lot segment of NDS-OM;
“Primary Dealers” means entities authorized by RBI to undertake primary dealership activities in Government Securities;
“Request for Quotes (RFQ) segment” refers to the on-screen negotiation system of RBI’s NDS-OM system;
“Retail Direct Gilt (RDG) Account” means gilt account maintained in the books of RBI under the Retail Direct Scheme;
“Retail Direct Scheme” refers to the RBI Retail Direct scheme formulated to facilitate investment in Government Securities by individual investors.
3. Applicable entities
All Primary Dealers.
4. Obligations of Primary Dealers:
A. In the Odd Lot segment:
Primary Dealers (PDs) may provide buy and sell quotes on the NDS-OM odd lot segment as below:
All PDs may provide buy/sell quotes for liquid securities throughout market hours. Alternatively, the secondary market trading time may be divided into time slots and it shall be ensured that PDs provide buy/sell quotes during these time slots for the liquid securities that they hold. Primary Dealers Association of India may decide on the allocation of time slots amongst PDs and inform the same to IDMD, RBI.
PDs may strive to achieve turnover on the odd-lot segment on a best effort basis.
B. In the Request-For-Quotes (RFQ) segment:
PDs may be present on the RFQ platform throughout market hours.
Any request for buy/sell from the Retail Direct Gilt Account Holders may be responded to by the PDs with a market-relevant quote.
5. Simplified KYC for transaction with RDG account holders in RFQ segment
Rule 9 sub-rule 14 clause (i) of The Prevention of Money-Laundering (Maintenance of Records) Rules, 2005, provides for simplified measures to verify the client’s identity. Therefore, it is, hereby, prescribed that the PDs shall rely on the Know Your Customer (KYC) verification of the RDG account holders done under the retail direct scheme. No further KYC verification is required for transacting with RDG account holders on the RFQ segment of NDS-OM.
6. Facilities/Incentives for fulfilling the obligations:
A. Switching securities with RBI - A special Switch window will be opened for PDs every month, wherein PDs may switch the illiquid/semi-liquid securities acquired through RFQ segment from RDG account holders with liquid securities from RBI at FBIL/market prices.
B. Inclusion of successful trades in the annual target for PDs for achieving turnover with mid-segment and retail investors - All successful trades under the Retail Direct scheme will be reckoned towards fulfilling the annual target for turnover with mid-segment and retail investors prescribed to each PD respectively.
7. Performance Monitoring:
Primary Dealers may submit a report to IDMD, RBI, on successful trades executed in the RFQ segment, monthly on or before 10th of the following month as per the format given in Annex – I .
Primary Dealers may submit a report to IDMD, RBI, on total turnover achieved on the secondary market and turnover achieved via the odd lot segment, on an annual basis within 15 days from the close of the FY as per the format given in Annex – II .
The reports may be sent via an email to IDMD, RBI.
Audit logs of the trades executed by PDs with RDG account holders shall be preserved for verification if necessary.
Reproduced for reference with acknowledgment — Source: Reserve Bank of India · RBI/2021-22/147 · issued 04 Jan 2022. The plain-English explanation above is BankPulse’s own independent summary.
Example: if you are a Compliance officer at a bank this circular applies to (All Primary Dealers authorized by RBI, Retail Direct Gilt Account holders), your first concrete step on “RBI Retail Direct Scheme Market Making for Primary Dealers” is: “Ensure your PD desk provides buy/sell quotes on NDS-OM odd-lot and RFQ segments throughout market hours for liquid securities, or as per time slots allocated by the Primary Dealers Association of India.” (RBI issued this 04 Jan 2022).
Circular: RBI/2021-22/147 -- RBI Retail Direct Scheme Market Making for Primary Dealers
Issued: 04 Jan 2022
Action required: Ensure your PD desk provides buy/sell quotes on NDS-OM odd-lot and RFQ segments throughout market hours for liquid securities, or as per time slots allocated by the Primary Dealers Association of India.
Action required: Coordinate with Primary Dealers Association of India for time slot allocation if not providing continuous quotes.
Action required: Accept the KYC verification done under the Retail Direct Scheme for RDG account holders; do not re-verify for RFQ transactions.
Action required: Utilize the monthly special switch window with RBI to swap illiquid/semi-liquid securities acquired from RDG account holders for liquid ones.
Owner: ____________ Target date: ____________
Board/committee approval needed? Y / N
Evidence filed in compliance register on: ____________
Built only from this circular’s own published fields — not legal advice; always confirm against the official RBI source.
💬 Banker Discussion
Discuss this circular with fellow bankers — reply, upvote what helps, report what doesn’t belong. Be professional; no client data. Views are the commenter’s own, not BankPulse’s.
BankPulse Compliance Evidence Pack — generated 03 Aug 2026 · status cross-checked against RBI’s official withdrawal register (refreshed weekly). Official RBI source: https://www.rbi.org.in/Scripts/NotificationUser.aspx?Id=12216&Mode=0 — Plain-English summary by BankPulse (bankpulse.ai), reviewed by our expert reviewer, CA Amit Jain. Independent platform, not affiliated with the Reserve Bank of India; is our own plain-English paraphrase, not RBI’s original wording.
Help us keep this accurate
Found an inaccuracy or have an improvement? Tell us. Every report is reviewed by our team before any change is made — nothing goes live unverified.
Public beta — plain-English informational summaries. Always verify against the official RBI source (circular number cited on every page) before making compliance, credit, treasury, audit, or operational decisions. · Join our WhatsApp channel ↗
BANKPULSE · FREE DAILY BRIEF
Get RBI updates for your role
Every important RBI update, decoded in plain English — for your career, exams & financial awareness.
We collect only your email, name and role, used solely to send your brief — never sold or shared. Withdraw anytime via the unsubscribe link in any email. Independent platform, not affiliated with the RBI. Information, not legal advice.
REPORT AN ERROR · BETA
Spotted an error? Earn 500 BankPulse Credits
Help us stay accurate. If your correction is verified true and approved by our founder, you earn 500 BankPulse Credits — redeemable when the platform monetises.
Reviewed by a human before any credit is awarded. We never change the site from crowd input without verification.
WANT A NEW FEATURE · BETA
What would make BankPulse more useful for you?
Tell us what to build next — a tool, a data view, a role page, anything. We read every suggestion.
Thank you — your ideas directly shape what we build.