Debt mutual funds whose USP was its tax arbitrage over its alternatives has taken some hard blows over in the last couple of Union Budgets which withdrew most of its tax advantages. Simply put, the mutual fund industry will need to re-calibrate to make their debt mutual fund holdings more palatable to investors. There is also a plethora of traditional savings offerings from the government, albeit with investment caps which still remain popular among investors.
Though non-traditional, an emerging asset class that many young people are gravitating towards is Crypto-currencies. While I don’t claim expertise in Crypto-currencies, its acceptance as legal tender in some parts of the world suggests that the concept could grow, subject to regulatory approval. Given its extreme volatility though, one needs to tread carefully though.