India pilots Demat 2.0 to tokenize ₹1,025 crore in corporate bonds

India has successfully completed a pilot for tokenized corporate bond issuances under the “Demat 2.0” framework. Launched by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the initiative utilizes a private, permissioned distributed ledger operated by the national depositories NSDL and CDSL.

Three companies—REC Ltd., Larsen & Toubro, and IIFL Finance—participated in the pilot, raising a combined total of approximately ₹1,025 crore (roughly $107 million). The system integrates with the RBI’s wholesale central bank digital currency (the digital rupee) via a Unified Market Interface, enabling atomic delivery-versus-payment to ensure simultaneous exchange of bonds and cash.

Unlike public blockchain applications, this infrastructure extends existing account structures to improve settlement speed and reduce operational risks. The technology aims to enhance cash-flow management for issuers and provide greater automation for investors and market intermediaries within India’s debt market.