Under Section 2(30) of the Companies Act, 2013, a debenture includes debenture stock, bonds, or any other instrument of a company evidencing a debt, whether constituting a charge on the company's assets or not. In simple terms, a debenture is a long-term debt instrument issued by a company to borrow money from the public or institutions at a fixed rate of interest for a specified period, after which the principal is repaid — debenture holders are creditors, not owners, of the company.