SEBI announced the successful launch of “Demat 2.0”, a pilot for tokenisation of corporate bonds. The announcement was made jointly on September 10, 2026, by RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra and SEBI Chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey at the Global Fintech Fest in Mumbai (SEBI PR No. 56/2026).
Under the pilot, the bond is created as a digital token on a distributed ledger maintained by market infrastructure institutions using DLT. The ledger is owned by the depositories. Demat 2.0 connects to RBI’s wholesale CBDC (e₹) through RBI’s Unified Market Interface (UMI). That link enables atomic settlement: the bond and the money move at the same time. Asset servicing, including interest and redemption, can run through smart contracts that credit e₹ to bondholders’ CBDC wallets on the due date.
Three companies have issued tokenised bonds so far, aggregating ₹1,025 crore. REC Limited was first on September 7, 2026, raising ₹500 crore from 18 investors. L&T Limited issued on September 9, 2026, raising ₹500 crore from 4 investors. IIFL issued on September 9, 2026, raising ₹25 crore from 1 investor.
SEBI states that what changes is the technology used to record ownership and service the bond. The bond remains the same instrument in law. Investor rights, the issuer’s repayment obligation, and requirements on credit rating, debenture trustees, listing and disclosures continue to apply in full. Holdings sit in the investor’s existing demat account; no separate demat account or fresh KYC is required. Participants enable Demat 2.0 with their depository and hold a wholesale CBDC (e₹) wallet with a participating bank for the funds leg.
The pilot is phased. Issuances under the first phase are ongoing. Later phases are planned to extend secondary-market trading through existing RFQ platforms and access for retail investors. SEBI says secondary-market funds receipt under the design is immediate, versus a prior process that generally took 2–3 days; issuer funds after bidding are described as same-day versus a prior 2–3 day pattern. Retail access is not part of the current issuance phase.
SEBI PR No. 56/2026 (Sep 10, 2026); SEBI FAQ on Demat 2.0