Bonds from scratch
If you have never bought a bond, or have never been quite sure what one actually is, start on this page. One short explanation, one diagram, and everything else in this module builds on it from here.
Think of a fixed deposit. You hand your money to a bank, and the bank turns around and lends that money to companies and other borrowers, keeping the difference between what it pays you and what it charges them. A bond is that same lending relationship with the bank stepped out of the middle. You lend directly to the company or government that actually needs the money, and it promises to pay you back with interest itself, on terms fixed at the start: how much, how often, and by when.
That is the whole idea. Everything that follows in this module, however deep it goes, is built on this one fact.
Start reading
in order- 01A bond is not a fixed deposit The one difference from the deposit you already trust, read off a real bond, and what it costs you to get that difference wrong.
- 02A bond is not your only option The honest comparison against a bank deposit, a government savings scheme, and a debt mutual fund, before you buy one.
- 03One bond, many yields Why the same government bond shows three different yields on three different tools, a worked example you can check, and why markets never agreed on one formula.
- 04The meter is always running Why the price on your screen is part bond and part somebody else's interest, how the days of interest are counted, and the day a coupon stops being yours.
- auSovereign Gold Bonds after the scheme closed What an SGB is worth now that issuance has stopped, how the 2026 tax change reset its price, and how it compares with other ways of owning gold.
Important. This is general educational content, published as information only. We are not a SEBI registered investment adviser or research analyst, and nothing on this page is investment advice. Nothing here is a recommendation to buy, sell or hold any bond.