Top Debt ETFs in India (2026)

Overview of Top Debt ETFs in India

BHARAT Bond ETF-April 2030-Growth

This is a target maturity debt ETF that invests in bonds of select public sector companies with maturities aligned around April 2030. The ETF follows a defined maturity structure, and its portfolio gradually reduces interest rate risk as it approaches the target year.

Bharat Bond ETF - April 2023

This was a target maturity debt ETF that invested in high-rated PSU bonds with maturity aligned to April 2023. It followed a roll-down structure, where the interest rate risk declined steadily as the maturity date approached.

BHARAT Bond ETF-April 2032

This ETF tracks a portfolio of public sector enterprise bonds with maturities aligned around April 2032. It offers long-duration exposure to PSU debt and remains sensitive to interest rate movements over a longer time frame.

Nippon IN ETF Nifty 8-13 yr G-Sec Long Term Gilt

This ETF tracks the Nifty 8–13 Year G-Sec Index and invests in long-term government securities. Its performance remains closely linked to changes in long-term interest rates and government bond yields.

Nippon India ETF Nifty 1D Rate Liquid BeES

This ETF tracks the Nifty 1D Rate Index, which reflects overnight money market rates. It focuses on very short-term instruments and shows low price volatility compared to longer-duration debt ETFs.

What are Debt ETFs?

Debt ETFs are exchange-traded funds that invest in fixed-income instruments such as government bonds, treasury bills, corporate bonds, and money market securities. They track a specific debt or bond index and trade on stock exchanges like regular shares, with prices changing in real time.

How to Invest in Debt ETFs?

Here’s how you can invest in Debt ETFs using Tickertape -

1. Create an account on the Tickertape or log in if you already have one.
2. Open Debt ETFs Screener
3. You can review this data to evaluate each ETF’s performance trends and determine whether they align with your investment thesis.
4. Once you’ve decided on an ETF, you can place a buy order through your brokerage account linked to Tickertape.

Further, you can analyse your overall portfolio and potential red flags in it by connecting it to Tickertape. Check out detailed analysis of your portfolio now!

How Debt ETFs Work in India?

1. Pooling of investor money: Asset management companies gather funds from many investors and create a common corpus. The ETF uses this pool to buy a diversified set of bonds so that each unit represents proportional exposure to the portfolio.
2. Portfolio construction: Every debt ETF follows a predefined index, duration band, or maturity target. The fund manager builds the portfolio to resemble that framework, which helps investors understand the type of interest rate and credit exposure they hold.
3. Demat-based ownership: Investors do not purchase individual bonds in their own names. They hold exchange-traded units in demat accounts, which simplifies access to instruments that might otherwise require large minimum investments.
4. Exchange price discovery: Units trade on stock exchanges throughout the day. Market participants influence prices based on prevailing yields, liquidity conditions, and expectations about future interest rates.
5. Sources of return: The portfolio earns interest from the bonds it holds. Changes in yields can also push bond prices up or down, which affects the ETF’s market value.
6. Creation and redemption mechanism: Large institutional participants exchange baskets of bonds for ETF units. This process helps align trading prices with the underlying portfolio value.

1. Government bond ETFs: These funds invest mainly in securities issued by the central or state governments. Investors often associate them with lower default risk because the sovereign backs the issuers.
2. Corporate bond ETFs: These ETFs hold debt from public or private companies. Credit ratings, business stability, and spread movements play an important role in how these portfolios behave.
3. Target maturity ETFs: Each scheme sets a maturity year similar to holding a bond until it matures. As time passes, the portfolio duration reduces, and the visibility of cash flows generally improves.
4. Liquid and short-duration ETFs: These products invest in instruments with very near-term maturities. Lower duration typically reduces sensitivity to sharp interest rate movements.
5. PSU or theme-based debt ETFs: Some ETFs concentrate on bonds issued by public sector undertakings or specific categories of issuers, creating focused exposure within the fixed income market.

Conclusion

Debt ETFs reflect the performance of specific bond and money market indices through an exchange-traded structure. Their prices move in real time, their costs remain lower due to passive management, and their portfolios stay transparent through regular index-based disclosures. Interest rate movements, credit quality, tracking differences, and liquidity conditions shape their short-term and long-term behaviour.

That’s why it’s important for investors to analyse debt ETFs using tools like the Tickertape Stock Screener, which comes with 200+ filters for detailed evaluation of ETFs and debt instruments.