Low duration funds in India
25 live funds in the Low Duration category, ordered by 5-year return, highest first; HSBC Ultra Short to Short Term 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 29 Oct 2026; 3 and 5 year returns are a year, compounded.
- Category median, 1 yearCategory median, 1 year. The middle return among the Low Duration category's funds, each over the same window to its own latest NAV, on their Direct plans.
- +5.82%Middle of 23 funds
- Category median, 3 yearsCategory median, 3 years. The middle return among the Low Duration category's funds, each over the same window to its own latest NAV, on their Direct plans; a year, compounded.
- +7.22%Middle of 20 funds
- Category median, 5 yearsCategory median, 5 years. The middle return among the Low Duration category's funds, each over the same window to its own latest NAV, on their Direct plans; a year, compounded.
- +6.62%Middle of 20 funds
Low Duration funds
Size is the average money the fund managed over its latest quarter. Cost is its yearly expense ratio.Filter them in the screener
HSBC Ultra Short to Short Term FundHSBC Mutual FundNAV₹32.77961Y+5.85%3Y+7.69%5Y+6.93%Size₹937 CrCost0.40%
Aditya Birla Sun Life Ultra Short to Short Term FundAditya Birla Sun Life Mutual FundNAV₹786.38391Y+5.62%3Y+7.21%5Y+6.74%Size₹9,853 CrCost0.42%
Nippon India Ultra Short to Short Term FundNippon India Mutual FundNAV₹4,306.81851Y+5.95%3Y+7.33%5Y+6.73%Size₹7,767 CrCost0.39%
HDFC Ultra Short to Short Term FundHDFC Mutual FundNAV₹67.73281Y+5.68%3Y+7.24%5Y+6.70%Size₹17,860 CrCost0.46%
Kotak Ultra Short to Short Term FundKotak Mahindra Mutual FundNAV₹3,947.85041Y+5.74%3Y+7.32%5Y+6.69%Size₹12,174 CrCost0.41%
Axis Ultra Short to Short Term FundAxis Mutual FundNAV₹3,517.29831Y+5.93%3Y+7.32%5Y+6.69%Size₹4,728 CrCost0.37%
Mahindra Manulife Ultra Short to Short Term FundMahindra Manulife Mutual FundNAV₹1,900.46041Y+5.89%3Y+7.30%5Y+6.66%Size₹529 CrCost0.34%
ICICI Prudential Ultra Short to Short Term FundICICI Prudential Mutual FundNAV₹597.06031Y+5.83%3Y+7.27%5Y+6.63%Size₹21,021 CrCost0.42%
Sundaram Ultra Short to Short Term FundSundaram Mutual FundNAV₹4,010.00361Y+5.65%3Y+7.16%5Y+6.62%Size₹418 CrCost0.40%
Baroda BNP Paribas Ultra Short to Short Term FundBaroda BNP Paribas Mutual FundNAV₹47.58671Y+5.99%3Y+7.23%5Y+6.62%Size₹358 CrCost0.29%
Mirae Asset Ultra Short to Short Term FundMirae Asset Mutual FundNAV₹2,664.93031Y+5.88%3Y+7.31%5Y+6.62%Size₹2,198 CrCost0.21%
LIC MF Ultra Short to Short Term FundLIC Mutual FundNAV₹46.50641Y+6.04%3Y+7.25%5Y+6.54%Size₹1,801 CrCost0.24%
SBI Ultra Short to Short Term FundSBI Mutual FundNAV₹3,924.78141Y+5.61%3Y+7.10%5Y+6.52%Size₹12,365 CrCost0.44%
Tata Ultra Short to Short Term FundTata Mutual FundNAV₹4,378.46941Y+5.94%3Y+7.17%5Y+6.51%Size₹2,496 CrCost0.27%
UTI Ultra Short to Short Term FundUTI Mutual FundNAV₹3,899.04751Y+5.73%3Y+7.11%5Y+6.50%Size₹2,459 CrCost0.37%
JM Ultra Short to Short Term FundJM Financial Mutual FundNAV₹41.20271Y+5.77%3Y+7.12%5Y+6.49%Size₹223 CrCost0.41%
Canara Robeco Ultra Short to Short Term FundCanara Robeco Mutual FundNAV₹46.88201Y+5.82%3Y+7.09%5Y+6.44%Size₹1,121 CrCost0.21%
DSP Ultra Short to Short Term FundDSP Mutual FundNAV₹22.08061Y+5.44%3Y+6.96%5Y+6.41%Size₹4,560 CrCost0.31%
Invesco India Ultra Short to Short Term FundInvesco Mutual FundNAV₹4,254.87001Y+5.59%3Y+7.00%5Y+6.39%Size₹1,709 CrCost0.34%
Bandhan Ultra Short to Short Term FundBandhan Mutual FundNAV₹42.71391Y+5.73%3Y+7.02%5Y+6.39%Size₹6,460 CrCost0.38%
Bajaj Finserv Ultra Short to Short Term FundBajaj Finserv Mutual FundNAV₹1,040.66131Y–3Y–5Y–Size₹599 CrCost0.24%
Edelweiss Ultra Short to Short Term FundEdelweiss Mutual FundNAV₹1,109.66281Y+5.85%3Y–5Y–Size₹497 CrCost0.25%
Franklin India Ultra Short to Short Term FundFranklin Templeton Mutual FundNAV₹11.20291Y+6.04%3Y–5Y–Size₹398 CrCost0.27%
JioBlackRock Ultra Short to Short Term FundJio BlackRock Mutual FundNAV₹1,044.91361Y–3Y–5Y–Size₹704 CrCost0.33%
Union Ultra Short to Short Term FundUnion Mutual FundNAV₹10.71631Y+5.28%3Y–5Y–Size₹351 CrCost0.26%
Tax on low duration 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 low duration funds in India
Low duration funds in India are debt mutual funds whose portfolio has a Macaulay duration of 6 to 12 months. That is the average time, weighted by cash flows, until the portfolio's bonds pay back. SEBI's current name for the category is Ultra Short to Short Term Fund.
What SEBI requires
SEBI's category rule sets the Macaulay duration of the whole portfolio between 6 months and 12 months, invested in debt and money market instruments. The test applies to the portfolio, not to each bond. The category sets no rating limit.
The new name came with SEBI's categorisation circular of 26 Feb 2026, which kept the 6 to 12 month band and gave existing schemes six months to adopt it, so the funds listed here carry the new name.
Duration and interest rates
Duration estimates how much a fund's NAV (net asset value, the price of one unit) falls when yields rise. A portfolio with a duration of 9 months loses roughly 0.75% of value for each 1 percentage point rise in yields, and gains about the same when yields fall.
Part of a low duration fund's return comes from interest on its holdings, which makes the daily NAV change smoother than in longer categories. Holdings are typically a mix of certificates of deposit, commercial paper, and short corporate and government bonds.
Neighbouring categories
Ultra short term funds (formerly ultra short duration) sit one step shorter, at 3 to 6 months. Short term funds (formerly short duration) sit one step longer, at 1 to 3 years. Money market funds are defined by maturity, up to 1 year, not by portfolio duration, and liquid funds by maturity of up to 91 days. A low duration fund can therefore hold bonds that mature after a year, as long as the portfolio average stays in the band.
Tax on gains
For units bought on or after 1 Apr 2023, gains on a fund that holds more than 65% in debt and money market instruments are taxed at the holder's income tax slab rate, whatever the holding period, with no indexation. Units bought earlier follow the older holding-period rules.
How the page lists funds
Every live fund in the category appears with its latest NAV, its 1, 3 and 5 year returns on the Direct plan where there is one (3 and 5 years compounded per year), its size and its cost.
The order is by 5-year return, highest first, with younger funds after them by name; a dash marks a period the fund is too young to have. Size is the average money the fund managed over its latest quarter, and cost is its yearly expense ratio. The category medians above the table are the middle return of the funds that have that period.