With reference to India, consider the following statements: 1. Retail investors through demat account can invest in 'Treasury Bills' and 'Government of India Debt Bonds' in primary market. 2. The 'Negotiated Dealing System-Order Matching' is a government securities trading platform of the Reserve Bank of India. 3. The 'Central Depository Services Ltd.' is jointly promoted by the Reserve Bank of India and the Bombay Stock Exchange. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Answer: B. Statements 1 and 2 are correct; Statement 3 is wrong. Statement 1 is CORRECT. Retail investors CAN invest in T-Bills and Government of India Debt Bonds in the PRIMARY MARKET through demat accounts. The RBI's RETAIL DIRECT SCHEME (launched November 2021) enables individuals to open a Retail Direct Gilt (RDG) account and invest directly in G-Secs (including T-Bills) via primary auctions and the secondary market. Earlier, the non-competitive bidding facility was already available through banks/PDs. Statement 2 is CORRECT. The NEGOTIATED DEALING SYSTEM-ORDER MATCHING (NDS-OM) is the RBI's ELECTRONIC, ANONYMOUS, ORDER-DRIVEN TRADING PLATFORM for secondary market trades in government securities. Launched in August 2005, it is operated by the Clearing Corporation of India Ltd (CCIL) under RBI's regulation. It handles the bulk of secondary G-Sec trading volume. Statement 3 is WRONG. THE CENTRAL DEPOSITORY SERVICES LTD (CDSL) is promoted by the BOMBAY STOCK EXCHANGE (BSE) along with leading banks including SBI, HDFC, Standard Chartered etc. — NOT by the RBI. CDSL is one of India's two depositories (the other being NSDL, promoted by NSE, IDBI, UTI). The RBI does not have a role in promoting CDSL. Source: RBI Retail Direct Scheme November 2021 / CDSL annual report / NDS-OM documentation.