What happened
- Specific facts/numbers: SEBI said three tokenised corporate bond issuances had been completed under the Demat 2.0 pilot as of September 10, 2026; the platform aims to cut issuer funding time from the usual 2–3 days after bidding to same-day receipt and also supports immediate secondary-market funds availability through atomic settlement.
- Institutions involved: The pilot was announced jointly by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and Reserve Bank of India (RBI) at Global Fintech Fest in Mumbai, with the infrastructure operated through depositories and connected to RBI’s wholesale CBDC (e₹) via the Unified Market Interface.
- Regulatory/technical context: Demat 2.0 tests issuance, holding, trading and settlement of corporate bonds as digital tokens on a distributed ledger owned by depositories; it uses DLT, wholesale CBDC connectivity and smart contracts to automate settlement, interest payments and redemption while reducing reconciliation and settlement risk.
- What to watch next: Watch for whether India expands the pilot beyond the initial three issuances into broader secondary-market usage or additional asset classes; no specific next milestone was identified in the materials reviewed.
Why it matters
This shows India moving tokenised securities closer to regulated market infrastructure, with central-bank money used to shorten settlement cycles and automate post-trade servicing.
HKMA Relevance
Indirect: SEBI’s own comparison cites Hong Kong’s Project Evergreen as a global precedent, making this relevant to regional discussions on tokenised bond infrastructure and wholesale CBDC-linked settlement.