Mumbai, Aug 19: Grip Invest launched the 1st edition of the Great Indian Bond Festival , a festival dedicated to fixed-income investing, with NSE as Venue Partner and NSDL as Depository Partner, marking the beginning of a two-week national campaign running from 18 to 31 August. The campaign brings together regulators, bond issuers, market infrastructure institutions, ecosystem partners and investors to create greater awareness around bonds and other fixed-income products as an attractive retail investment avenue.
India’s corporate bond market is valued at over ₹59 lakh crore, while less than 1% of Indian households invest in bonds, highlighting significant headroom for wider participation from individual investors. GIBF aims to address this gap through a 360-degree campaign spanning print, digital, social media, podcasts, influencers and affiliates, supported by investor-focused offerings available during the campaign period.
The campaign is being supported by NSE as the venue partner and NSDL as the depository partner, with Tata Neu, ET Money, MobiKwik, Compound Express and Elevest by InsuranceDekho joining as ecosystem partners.
Commenting on the launch, Nikhil Aggarwal, Founder, Grip Invest, said,
“GIBF is both a celebration and an awareness initiative. On the one hand, retail participation in bonds has growth at 200% CAGR to 30,000+ Cr annually. At the same time, understanding of bonds and participation remains deeply underpenetrated. GIBF is an annual platform that will contribute to the growth of India’s retail bond market and brings fixed-income investing into the broader investment conversation.”
The festival was launched at the NSE Atrium in Mumbai, in the presence of over 250 attendees representing different segments of the financial ecosystem, including regulators, issuers, retail investors, wealth advisors, IFAs, family offices, and fund managers. The event featured an inaugural address by Mr. Sriram Krishnan, CBDO, NSE, followed by a panel discussion on deepening India’s bond market with Ms. Maninder Cheema, Executive Director, SEBI, Mr. Saravanan Krishnamurthy, Chief General Manager, SEBI and Mr. Nikhil Aggarwal, Founder and Group CEO, Grip Invest. The programme also included an address by Mr. Sameer Patil, Chief Business Officer, NSDL, and a panel discussion on debt market distribution.
Mr. Sriram Krishnan, CBDO, NSE commented:
“India’s fixed-income market has significant potential to grow, both in terms of participation and reach. The debt investor base has expanded 3.25x in just the last four months, underscoring the growing appetite for fixed-income investments. As investors increasingly seek to diversify their portfolios, making bonds more familiar, accessible and easy to participate in will be important for the continued deepening of the market. Initiatives such as the Great Indian Bond Festival can play an important role in building greater awareness and encouraging wider participation in the bond market. NSE is pleased to be part of this initiative and remains committed to supporting the growth and deepening of India’s fixed-income ecosystem.”
Mr. Sameer Patil, CBO, NSDL commented:
“Retail participation in India’s capital markets has grown significantly, and there is an opportunity to extend this participation across asset classes. With its scale and range of products, the bond market can play a larger role in retail investment portfolios. This will require greater investor awareness, easier access and continued focus on trust and transparency. The Great Indian Bond Festival by Grip Invest brings together stakeholders across the ecosystem to support this objective, and NSDL is pleased to be part of this effort to deepen retail participation in the fixed-income market.”