India’s SEBI Demat 2.0 pilot debuts with over $100 million in tokenized bonds

India's capital markets regulator launched a pilot program enabling the issuance of tokenized corporate bonds on a permissioned blockchain infrastructure. Three major issuers - REC, Larsen & Toubro, and IIFL Finance - have already raised approximately ₹1,025 crore ($100+ million) under the framework. Settlement occurs through the RBI's wholesale digital rupee, a central bank digital currency designed for interbank transactions rather than retail use.

The pilot represents an early experiment in bringing India's debt markets onto distributed ledger technology while keeping the system controlled and compliant through permissioning and CBDC settlement. It's positioned as an alternative to traditional dematerialized securities infrastructure without requiring open-chain participation.

• Three major Indian corporates have already raised over $100 million in tokenized bonds via the Demat 2.0 pilot, signaling regulatory comfort with the approach.
• The framework uses a permissioned ledger and RBI wholesale CBDC for settlement, keeping tokenization within existing monetary and regulatory boundaries.
• The pilot indicates SEBI and the RBI view blockchain infrastructure as a potential upgrade to legacy bond market plumbing rather than a disruption to it.