Government securities (G-sec) are sovereign securities which are auctioned by the Reserve Bank of India on behalf of Government of India, as a part of the Central/State Government's market borrowing program. Government Securities may have a fixed or a floating coupon. These securities are reckoned for SLR to be maintained by banks.

All securities issued by the Central and State Governments are treated as Gilt Edged Securities. Hence GILT is another name for government securities. The term reflects the superior quality of the papers issued by the government. The papers issued by the Bank of England used to have gilt-edged borders and the term gilts originated from there.