SEBI & RBI Launch Demat 2.0 Corporate Bond Tokenisation Pilot
By Market Desk
Discover how SEBI and RBI’s new Demat 2.0 pilot uses tokenisation to modernise India’s corporate bond market, enabling fractional ownership and faster settlements.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), in collaboration with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), has officially launched a pilot project focused on the tokenisation of corporate bonds. This move represents a central pillar of the new ‘Demat 2.0’ framework designed to overhaul traditional debt market processes.
How the Pilot Functions
The project leverages blockchain-like technology to transform the way corporate bonds are issued and traded. By converting these assets into digital tokens, the system aims to introduce several structural improvements to the current market environment.
Key objectives of the initiative include:
- Modernising core debt market infrastructure.
- Enabling the mechanism of fractional ownership for participants.
- Accelerating settlement cycles compared to existing standards.
Current Scope and Future Integration
The pilot is currently in its active testing phase with a specific group of market participants. The primary focus is to evaluate the technical robustness and overall security of the new digital infrastructure.
Current status of the program:
- Three issuers are currently participating in the pilot project.
- Reduction of operational friction is a primary goal for the regulators.
- Lowering costs for both issuers and investors remains a targeted outcome.
The successful implementation of this pilot could facilitate a broader adoption of distributed ledger technology (DLT) across the Indian financial ecosystem. This shift would align the domestic corporate bond market with emerging global trends in the integration of digital assets.