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  As RBI has now allowed retail investors to apply for floating rate savings bonds via its Retail Direct Portal, there is a recent addition to the number of fixed income instruments one can opt for. For the uninitiated, subscription to these bonds is done in the form of cash (up to ?20,000 only). The bonds may be held by a person resident in India in their individual capacity or joint basis or on any or survivor basis or on behalf of a minor as father/ mother or legal guardian. Applications for these bonds are received in the designated branches of State Bank of India, IDBI Bank, Axis Bank, HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank.   What are floating rate savings bonds? The floating rate bonds are fixed income instruments that can be held by an individual or a Hindu Undivided Family (HUF) with interest payable at half yearly intervals on Jan 1st and July 1st every year. On these bonds, there is no option to pay interest on a cumulative basis.The coupon rate will be linked/ pegged with prevailing Nati

  Economic growth in India in the second quarter this financial year is likely to surprise on the upside, said Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das on Tuesday. Speaking at the Business Standard BFSI Insight Summit, Das said: “Looking at the momentum of economic activity, looking at a few early indicators, I can say that the second-quarter GDP number, as and when it is released, at the end of November, in all probability will surprise everyone on the upside.” The RBI has projected a GDP growth rate of 6.5 per cent for July-September while growth for 2023-24 too is seen at 6.5 per cent. Das said for the central bank inflation had priority over growth. “We look at inflation-growth dynamics. The first priority is inflation at the moment, and based on that we decide policy,” he said. After raising the repo rate by 250 bps between May 2022 and February 2023, the six-member Monetary Policy Committee has maintained its status in the next four policies. The next policy review is