In the 1990s, the Indian government grew serious about the prospect of raising debt capital through government securities - also referred to as bonds or gilts. Before the aforementioned period, while such borrowings used to take form, they remained dominated by large investors like banks and other established companies. However, in what reflected a marked change in the government?s approach, the post-liberalisation era saw these bonds being increasingly issued to individual and non-institutional investors. Fast forward to FY 2023, the total outstanding value of government bonds stands at 161 lakh crores. To put things into perspective, the said value has risen by 77% since FY 2018. The dominance and popular acceptance of government bonds is further exhibited by the fact that it occupies 78% of the market share pertaining to the bond market.