~Samriddhi Singh Mahar
RBI’s retail direct scheme has seen an increase of 80.49% in user registrations since after the launch of RBI’s Retail Direct App.
The app was launched to support RBI’s Retail Direct Scheme, which allows individual retail investors to open a “Retail Direct Gilt (RDG)” account with RBI and gives them access to the primary market for trading in government securities.
Earlier it was only possible to apply for this scheme through the online portal, but now through they can avail the scheme’s facilities conveniently using their phones.
| Total number of Registrations | Total number of Accounts Opened | Total Primary Market Subscriptions (in ₹ Cr) | Total Traded Volume (in ₹ Cr) | Total Holdings (in ₹ Cr) | Sovereign Gold Bond Holdings (in Kg) | |
| Start of the year | 1,19,928 | 1,09,212 | 3,548.25 | 567.61 | 1,844.41 | 645.40 |
| Right before announcement of App 1/4/24 |
1,33,758 | 1,19,669 | 4,222.98 | 592.36 | 2,023.29 | 740.39 |
| Right After announcement of App 8/4/24 |
1,35,247 | 1,20,626 | 4,276.75 | 598.25 | 2,037.79 | 740.45 |
| Right Before launch of App 27/5/24 | 1,38,819 | 1,24,951 | 4,625.40 | 627.64 | 2,153.15 | 741.47 |
| Right After launch of App 3/6/24 |
1,69,256 | 1,29,011 | 4,655.77 | 629.56 | 2,158.26 | 741.85 |
| Latest statistics 30/9/24 |
2,50,549 | 1,71,269 | 5,328.56 | 673.97 | 2,170.29 | 735.82 |
(Data has been taken from RBI Retail Direct Scheme’s portal and shows numbers since inception- November 12, 2021)Before the launch of the app it can be observed that there were a total of 1,38,819 user registrations, right after its launch, the user registrations increased by 30437, marking a 21.92% surge in user registrations. This shows the significant role the launch of the app played in increasing the user registrations for the scheme.
Data from the website also shows that the Total Accounts Opened increased by 37.07% since after the app’s launch, reaching a total of 171,269.
Also read : Explained: RBI’s Retail Direct Mobile App features & usage
Interestingly, the Total Holdings grew only modestly by 0.80%. This indicates that while user activity increased, the average investment per user remained largely consistent, suggesting cautious optimism among investors.
However, Sovereign Gold Bond Holdings saw a small decline of 0.76%, decreasing between 27th May to 30th September. This may be due to speculation by industry experts that the government will discontinue the Sovereign Gold Bond scheme, reflecting changing investor preferences or a shift toward more diversified portfolios.
