Fixed Income Investments constitute the largest segment of individual savings world over. The reason for such a fascination is the security and certainty associated with the words "fixed income". The notion of a recurring income at a fixed rate for a definite period or the availability of a definite lumpsum amount, representing principal plus interest at the end of a fixed term, is a matter of great comfort to any investor. Such phenomenon allows an investor to plan his/her future in a much better fashion and hence, the tremendous attraction for these products. Although, universally it is accepted that any fixed return on investments is a poor hedge against inflation, in real life, it is unlikely that individual retail investors will move away from fixed income investments even in the event of inflation rate overtaking the rate of return on investments, for short periods of time. This is largely because such investments by the majority of small retail investors, are seen more as a hedge against contingent requirements than against inflation. While the number of fixed income investments available globally is very large and varied, we are confining the scope of this discussion to fixed income instruments available in India.

Financial Products/Options Available: Most of the fixed income investments are that of the government or Quasi-government bodies. The market for private fixed income schemes is not very big in India. Following are the investment avenues for fixed income investors.

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