In a move aimed at fortifying debt mutual funds (MFs) and enhancing investor protection, Finance Minister Niramala Sitharaman launched the Corporate Debt Market Development Fund (CDMDF) on July 28. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) also issued detailed guidelines for this fund last week. CDMDF is yet another step, alongside a couple of others, towards making debt MFs safer for investors.
A backstop facility
CDMDF is designed to function as a backstop facility for debt funds during times of financial market stress. Corporate bond markets become illiquid in turbulent periods. Fund managers often find themselves selling bonds at