Small investors, salaried can now buy govt. bonds easily: PM
The Hindu
Modi says RBI’s Retail Direct, Integrated Ombudsman put ‘citizen at the centre’
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday kicked off two Reserve Bank of India (RBI) initiatives to make it easier for small investors to directly invest in government securities and provide a simpler single-window redressal mechanism for customers of RBI-regulated entities such as banks, finance companies and payment service providers.
Three existing ombudsman schemes of the RBI for banking, non-banking financial companies and digital transactions will be integrated, and will provide ‘cost-free redress of customer complaints involving deficiency in services’, the RBI said.
“These schemes will make it easier for small investors to... invest in a safe and simple manner in government securities,” Mr. Modi said. Stressing that proactive resolution of citizen’s grievances was the very cornerstone of democracy, he added that an integrated ombudsman would serve as a facility “where all grievances of the people can be redressed”.

The latest Household Consumption Expenditure Survey (HCES) by MoS&PI reveals a transformative shift in India’s economic landscape. For the first time in over a decade, granular data on Monthly Per Capita Expenditure (MPCE) highlights a significant decline in the proportional share of food spending—a classic validation of Engel’s Law as real incomes rise. Between 1999 and 2024, both rural and urban consumption pivoted away from staple-heavy diets toward protein-rich foods, health, education, and conveyance. As Indian households move beyond subsistence, these shifting Indian household spending patterns offer vital insights for social sector policy, poverty estimation, and the lived realities of an expanding middle-income population.












