How do I buy T-bills and what yield will I get?

A T-bill is a Government of India bill issued at a discount and redeemed at ₹100 per unit. It pays no coupon: your return is the gap between the price you are allotted at and ₹100.

Where can I bid, and what does it cost?

Channel	Fee on a T-bill bid	Notes
Fyers	No brokerage	Bids Monday 10:00 to Tuesday 17:00, auction Wednesday, settlement Thursday
HDFC Securities	0.06% of allotment plus GST	Online, app, phone desk or branch
RBI Retail Direct	No account or bid fee; payment gateway charges are yours	Held in a gilt account with RBI; T-bill auto-bidding since 6th Aug 2025
Upstox	0.06% of allotment plus 18% GST, and a ₹20 plus GST DP fee	In the NCDs and Bonds section
Zerodha	No fee since 1st Mar 2024	Bids through Coin or Kite

Sources: Fyers, HDFC Securities, RBI, Business Standard, Upstox, TradingQnA. On a ₹1 lakh bid, 0.06% plus GST is about ₹71. Cut-off times differ by broker, so check yours before the auction week. NSE's goBID mobile app has been suspended since 30th Jul 2025, while its web portal continues (NSE circular).

How does a non-competitive bid work?

NSE and brokers pool retail bids and submit them to RBI as a single non-competitive bid, and you are allotted at the weighted average price of the competitive auction (NSE). 5% of each T-bill issue is reserved for non-competitive bids, and bids start at ₹10,000 in multiples of ₹10,000 (HDFC Securities). You do not choose a price, so you are not outbid, but you learn the exact yield only after the auction.

What yield will I get?

The allotment price fixes the yield. For a 91 day bill allotted at ₹98.25:

1. Return over 91 days: (₹100 less ₹98.25) ÷ ₹98.25 = 1.78%
2. Annualised: 1.78% × 365 ÷ 91 = about 7.14%

₹98.25 is an illustration, not a current auction result. Check which figure a post or app is quoting. The 1.78% is the deannualised return for the 91 days, and comparing it with an FD's annual rate understates the T-bill about 4 times over. Forum threads on 91 day yields have more than 22,000 views, mostly from this mix-up (TradingQnA).

Why was ₹100 per unit debited?

A buyer asked on TradingQnA why ₹100 per unit was debited for a 91 day T-bill bought at a discount (TradingQnA). Your return is the gap between the allotment price and the ₹100 paid at maturity, so read the allotment price on your contract note or allotment statement rather than the amount first blocked or debited when you bid.

How is the return taxed?

The discount is treated as a short-term capital gain and taxed at your slab rate (Zerodha). That is the same rate as FD interest, so the comparison with an FD comes down to the annualised yield, the sovereign credit and how easily you can sell before maturity. See bonds vs FD.

Should I use RBI Retail Direct or my broker?

Both get the same auction price. RBI Retail Direct is free and offers auto-bidding, but holds T-bills in a separate RBI account; a broker keeps them in your existing demat and may charge 0.06%. See RBI Retail Direct or my broker.