India is set to issue its first tokenised corporate bond in September, marking a significant step towards integrating blockchain technology into its financial infrastructure and positioning itself alongside Hong Kong and Europe in digital debt innovation.
India is preparing to issue its first tokenised corporate bond in September, a move that would place the country alongside markets such as Hong Kong and Europe in experimenting with blockchain-based debt. Reuters reported that state-owned power financier REC Limited will lead the pilot, which is intended to test whether bond transactions can be settled almost immediately using distributed ledger technology.
The planned sale is expected to be smaller than ₹500 crore, or about $57 million, according to reporting by Reuters and Indian financial media. The initial phase will be restricted to a limited group of investors, and officials have not yet disclosed the full issuance framework, exact timetable or investor list. A person familiar with the matter told Reuters that more details are likely to be unveiled at a major annual fintech event in Mumbai next month.
Under the proposed structure, investors would need access to both a central bank digital currency wallet and a new securities wallet being developed by India’s depository system. The instrument would be recorded on a distributed ledger, with holdings tracked on-chain, and early trading would be confined to participants that hold both wallets. The report also said the issue would not trade on the existing electronic book-building platform, and that an initial lock-up period of three months would apply.
The pilot comes as India’s fast-growing digital-asset market draws increasing attention from global exchanges and blockchain companies. The country became the world’s most populous nation in 2023, and the Economist Intelligence Unit has highlighted its young labour force and demographic tailwind, with a median age of 28.5 in 2024. That has helped fuel interest in tokenisation, decentralised finance and other blockchain applications, while local and international firms continue to test the market’s appetite for crypto-linked services and digital financial products.
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