Government of India · dated security
A 15 year bond from the central government, paying 6.68% a year in 2 half-yearly coupons until it matures on 7th Jul 2040. Listed on NSE, ISIN IN0020250042. 13.7 years left to run.
Figures as of 22nd Oct 2026 · Terms from RBI; prices from the exchange, delayed
6.68% GS 2040 is a loan to the Government of India. The name carries its 2 fixed terms: it pays 6.68% a year on its ₹100 face value, and it is repaid in 2040. Being sovereign paper, it carries no credit rating: the borrower is the government itself, and the RBI runs the auctions it was sold in.
The exchange quotes this bond per ₹100 of face value, and the quote is the dirty price: it includes the interest accrued since the last coupon. At ₹95.01 it trades below par, so a buyer at that price earns more than the 6.68% printed on it: the yield to maturity works out to 7.63%.
Prices here are delayed by at least 15 minutes and can be hours old on a quiet day. The live order book, depth and every trade are on the bond's own page after login.
Each unit pays ₹3.34 twice a year, 7th Jan and 7th Jul, and the final coupon comes with the ₹100 face value on 7th Jul 2040. The record date decides who gets a coupon: hold the bond in your demat account on that date and the money comes to you, even if you sell the next day. Buy it just after a record date and the seller keeps that coupon, which is why the dirty price drops by about ₹3.34 on the day.
| Payment | Record date | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| 7th Jan 2027 | 6th Jan 2027 | ₹3.34 per ₹100 |
| 7th Jul 2027 | 6th Jul 2027 | ₹3.34 per ₹100 |
| 7th Jan 2028 | 6th Jan 2028 | ₹3.34 per ₹100 |
| 7th Jul 2028 | 6th Jul 2028 | ₹3.34 per ₹100 |
| 7th Jan 2029 | 6th Jan 2029 | ₹3.34 per ₹100 |
| 7th Jul 2029 | 6th Jul 2029 | ₹3.34 per ₹100 |
| 7th Jan 2030 | 6th Jan 2030 | ₹3.34 per ₹100 |
Dates from the bond’s cashflow schedule; a payment that lands on a holiday moves to the next working day. How accrued interest and record dates work is in the meter is always running.
On the exchange, through your broker. Search for 668GS2040 on NSE, the way you would search for a share. The smallest order is 1 unit of ₹100 face value, so at the last price a unit costs about ₹95.01. The bond settles into your own demat account the next working day, and the coupons land in the bank account linked to it.
At the auction, through RBI Retail Direct. The RBI reissues bonds like this one in its weekly auctions, and 5% of each auction is set aside for retail investors at the price the market sets. The portal is free; the bond then sits in an RBI gilt account rather than your demat, and selling it later means moving it or using RBI's own screen.
The exchange is quicker and keeps the bond where your shares are. The auction is cheaper only when the exchange screen is thin, which for many G-secs it is. The 6 routes side by side are in how do you buy a bond in India?, and the venues are compared in where to buy bonds in India.
Yes. 6.68% GS 2040 is on Zerodha's approved list (checked 22nd Oct 2026) with a haircut of 10%: pledge ₹100 of it and you get about ₹90 of margin, counted as cash equivalent, while the coupon keeps coming to you. Other brokers keep their own lists.
How a pledge works, what the margin can be used for and the state-bond trap are in can I pledge my bonds?.
The coupon is interest income, added to your total income and taxed at your slab. If you sell before maturity, the gain or loss is a capital gain, and its rate depends on how long you held the bond. Held to maturity, there is no capital gain: you get the ₹100 face value back.
Government bonds maturing within a few years of 2040. A longer bond moves more for the same change in rates; the chapter who decides your bond's yield? has the numbers.
Every listed G-sec, in order of maturity.