The Metropolitan Stock Exchange of India’s Electronic Bond Platform (MSE EBP) has facilitated its first tokenised corporate bond issuance as part of SEBI’s Demat 2.0 pilot, an initiative aimed at testing the tokenisation of corporate bonds within the regulated market framework, the exchange said in a release.
The issuance was undertaken by IIFL Finance, with Trust Investment Advisors acting as the arranger. The pilot operates under SEBI’s Regulatory Sandbox framework. Under the pilot, corporate bonds are issued natively on a distributed ledger, while ownership records continue to be maintained with statutory depositories. Settlement is carried out using Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), within the existing regulated market infrastructure.
The initiative, according to the release, is aimed at using distributed ledger technology to improve the efficiency of India’s debt market infrastructure, including faster settlement, greater transparency, wider access and more efficient capital formation.
SEBI Chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey and RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra launched the tokenised corporate bond pilot at Global Fintech Fest 2026, bringing together market infrastructure institutions, financial market participants, fintech firms and technology companies.
Latika S. Kundu, MD and CEO, MSE, said the Demat 2.0 pilot would help shape the future of India’s debt markets, adding that tokenisation combines technology with existing market infrastructure to enable more efficient, transparent and secure capital formation.