India plans to issue its first tokenized bond in September, with a scale potentially exceeding 57 million USD

According to Reuters, India plans to issue its first tokenized bond in September, issued by the state-owned power financing company REC, with an issuance scale expected to be below 5 billion rupees (approximately 57 million USD). Indian market regulators and the central bank are jointly promoting the relevant pilot project, and the bond issuance and settlement will utilize blockchain technology.

Sources say that the product is expected to be launched during the annual fintech conference in Mumbai in September, initially targeting a limited number of investors. Investors will participate through wholesale central bank digital currency (CBDC) wallets and electronic securities wallets. Indian depository institutions are developing an electronic wallet named DEMT 2 to record bond holdings via a distributed ledger.

The initial term of the bond is three months, and subsequent trading will be limited to participants who simultaneously hold compatible CBDC and securities wallets. A secondary market for tokenized bonds is expected to form by December, and it will not be traded on traditional electronic trading platforms.