Gilt funds in India
24 live funds in the Gilt category, ordered by 5-year return, highest first; Bandhan Gilt Fund leads. Funds younger than five years follow by name. Returns are for the plan each fund's page leads with, Direct where the fund has one, to each fund's latest NAV, the newest of them on 27 Oct 2026; 3 and 5 year returns are a year, compounded.
- Category median, 1 yearCategory median, 1 year. The middle return among the Gilt category's funds, each over the same window to its own latest NAV, on their Direct plans.
- +1.26%Middle of 24 funds
- Category median, 3 yearsCategory median, 3 years. The middle return among the Gilt category's funds, each over the same window to its own latest NAV, on their Direct plans; a year, compounded.
- +6.03%Middle of 22 funds
- Category median, 5 yearsCategory median, 5 years. The middle return among the Gilt category's funds, each over the same window to its own latest NAV, on their Direct plans; a year, compounded.
- +5.32%Middle of 19 funds
Gilt funds
Size is the average money the fund managed over its latest quarter. Cost is its yearly expense ratio.Filter them in the screener
Bandhan Gilt FundBandhan Mutual FundNAV₹40.94941Y+7.21%3Y+8.31%5Y+6.41%Size₹1,801 CrCost0.57%
SBI Gilt FundSBI Mutual FundNAV₹72.40061Y+2.72%3Y+6.40%5Y+6.13%Size₹8,246 CrCost0.49%
ICICI Prudential Gilt FundICICI Prudential Mutual FundNAV₹113.97961Y+1.25%3Y+6.08%5Y+5.96%Size₹8,555 CrCost0.58%
Axis Gilt FundAxis Mutual FundNAV₹28.18251Y+2.49%3Y+6.84%5Y+5.76%Size₹373 CrCost0.46%
DSP Gilt FundDSP Mutual FundNAV₹104.00431Y+1.12%3Y+6.32%5Y+5.59%Size₹1,219 CrCost0.59%
Tata Gilt FundTata Mutual FundNAV₹88.66431Y+0.54%3Y+6.04%5Y+5.50%Size₹845 CrCost0.30%
Baroda BNP Paribas Gilt FundBaroda BNP Paribas Mutual FundNAV₹47.90121Y+1.59%3Y+6.38%5Y+5.43%Size₹603 CrCost0.17%
Nippon India Gilt FundNippon India Mutual FundNAV₹43.86131Y+1.91%3Y+6.12%5Y+5.37%Size₹1,539 CrCost0.52%
Invesco India Gilt FundInvesco Mutual FundNAV₹3,164.63831Y+0.66%3Y+5.99%5Y+5.34%Size₹123 CrCost0.48%
UTI Gilt FundUTI Mutual FundNAV₹67.12411Y+2.66%3Y+6.20%5Y+5.32%Size₹407 CrCost0.47%
PGIM India Gilt FundPGIM India Mutual FundNAV₹33.11181Y+0.55%3Y+5.86%5Y+5.25%Size₹88 CrCost0.53%
HDFC Gilt FundHDFC Mutual FundNAV₹59.67541Y+1.46%3Y+6.02%5Y+5.20%Size₹2,017 CrCost0.46%
Franklin India Gilt FundFranklin Templeton Mutual FundNAV₹67.15761Y+3.58%3Y+6.08%5Y+5.19%Size₹148 CrCost0.64%
Kotak Gilt FundKotak Mahindra Mutual FundNAV₹110.05671Y+1.01%3Y+5.39%5Y+5.11%Size₹2,166 CrCost0.48%
Canara Robeco Gilt FundCanara Robeco Mutual FundNAV₹82.51141Y+1.27%3Y+5.74%5Y+5.11%Size₹120 CrCost0.43%
Edelweiss Gilt FundEdelweiss Mutual FundNAV₹26.23451Y+0.21%3Y+5.71%5Y+5.03%Size₹127 CrCost0.51%
HSBC Gilt FundHSBC Mutual FundNAV₹76.68571Y+1.00%3Y+5.73%5Y+4.99%Size₹158 CrCost0.50%
Aditya Birla Sun Life Gilt FundAditya Birla Sun Life Mutual FundNAV₹87.14141Y+0.09%3Y+5.30%5Y+4.84%Size₹1,289 CrCost0.50%
LIC MF Gilt FundLIC Mutual FundNAV₹66.34281Y+1.42%3Y+5.34%5Y+4.80%Size₹45 CrCost0.70%
Bajaj Finserv Gilt FundBajaj Finserv Mutual FundNAV₹1,076.10521Y+3.61%3Y–5Y–Size₹27 CrCost0.47%
Groww Gilt FundGroww Mutual FundNAV₹10.01621Y+0.97%3Y–5Y–Size₹35 CrCost0.57%
quant Gilt Fundquant Mutual FundNAV₹12.41871Y+1.89%3Y+5.60%5Y–Size₹77 CrCost0.40%
Union Gilt FundUnion Mutual FundNAV₹12.17241Y−1.40%3Y+4.45%5Y–Size₹83 CrCost0.65%- UTI 10 year Constant Maturity Gilt FundUTI Mutual FundNAV₹13.07471Y+1.08%3Y+6.44%5Y–Size₹112 CrCost0.33%
Tax on gilt funds
Gains on units bought on or after 1 Apr 2023 are taxed at the income tax slab rate however long they are held; gains on units bought earlier are taxed at 12.5% when held over 24 months, or over 12 months for a listed fund such as an ETF, and at the slab rate otherwise.
Rules in force from 23 Jul 2024, checked 27 Oct 2026. Surcharge and cess are not included.
About gilt funds in India
Gilt funds in India are open-ended debt mutual funds that invest at least 80% of their assets in government securities, bonds issued by the central and state governments. Gilt is the old market word for such bonds. SEBI sets the category by that holding, and the fund can hold securities of any maturity.
What SEBI requires
SEBI defines a gilt fund as an open-ended debt scheme that invests a minimum of 80% of total assets in government securities across maturities. There is no duration band, so the manager decides how long the holdings run. The scheme name must match the category name. Gilt funds are also exempt from the rule that other open-ended debt funds keep at least 10% of net assets in liquid assets such as cash and treasury bills.
Credit risk and interest rate risk
A government security is repaid by the government, so the fund carries almost no credit risk, the chance that a borrower fails to pay. Its price risk comes from interest rates. When yields on government bonds rise, the prices of existing bonds fall, and the fund's NAV (net asset value, the price of one unit) falls with them. The longer the bonds run, the larger the move.
Because maturity is unrestricted, a gilt fund can hold long bonds and swing more than a short term fund (formerly short duration), which keeps a Macaulay duration (the cash-flow weighted average time to repayment) of 1 to 3 years.
Gilt and 10-year constant maturity gilt funds
SEBI lists a second gilt category, the 10-year constant maturity gilt fund. It also invests at least 80% in government securities, but it must keep the portfolio's Macaulay duration at 10 years. A plain gilt fund has no such fixed duration, which is what separates the two. That category has its own page.
Tax on gains
Gains on debt fund units bought on or after 1 Apr 2023 are taxed at the holder's income tax slab rate, whatever the holding period, with no indexation (the older adjustment of the purchase cost for inflation). Gilt funds hold nearly all their money in debt, so this rule applies to them.
What this page lists
The page lists every live gilt fund, ordered by 5-year return, highest first. Each return is for the fund's Direct plan (the plan with no distributor commission) where one exists, measured to its latest NAV, with 3-year and 5-year figures compounded yearly. Funds younger than five years follow, sorted by name, with dashes where history is short. Size is the average money managed over the latest quarter, and cost is the yearly expense ratio. Category medians are the middle return of the funds that have that period.