India’s First Tokenised Corporate Bond: What REC’s September 2026 Pilot Will Test

India is preparing a tightly controlled test of tokenised corporate bonds, with state-owned power financier REC expected to become the first issuer. Reports put the September 2026 issue below ₹500 crore, making it a proof-of-concept for blockchain-based issuance and settlement rather than a public retail investment launch. 123

What REC’s pilot is expected to test

Tokenised bonds are conventional debt securities whose issuance, ownership, transfers and settlement records are maintained digitally on a blockchain or another distributed ledger. The proposed REC issue would test whether that shared record can support faster transactions and more efficient bond-market operations. 39

SEBI’s broader pilot objectives include faster settlement, improved traceability, greater transparency and the possibility of automating some bond-servicing events. These could include coupon payments or other actions handled through programmable infrastructure, although the detailed operating model for the REC issue has not been publicly set out in the supplied sources. 1920

How investors would buy and hold the bonds

The pilot is expected to use the RBI’s wholesale central bank digital currency, or w-CBDC, for payment. Selected investors would reportedly need two separate digital tools:

• a wholesale-CBDC wallet to hold and transfer the digital currency used to pay for the bonds; and
• a DEMAT 2.0 securities wallet to hold and track the tokenised bond position on the distributed ledger. 478

This structure is intended to link the movement of money with the movement of the security. In principle, a shared ledger could allow both legs of the transaction—the tokenised bond and the w-CBDC payment—to transfer together, reducing the reconciliation work associated with separate systems. The pilot is testing that proposition; it is not evidence that every future bond transaction will settle instantly. 20

SEBI and RBI are working together

The Securities and Exchange Board of India is advancing the corporate-bond tokenisation pilot in coordination with the Reserve Bank of India. The proposed connection between tokenised securities and the RBI’s wholesale-CBDC settlement infrastructure is one of the pilot’s defining features. 2620

SEBI chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey previously described tokenisation as a way to examine faster settlement, better traceability, automated servicing and greater transparency in India’s debt markets. 113

Access will be restricted at first

The REC bonds are expected to be offered only to a selected group of pilot investors, not to the general retail market. The securities are also expected to carry an initial three-month lock-in, limiting immediate transfers after issuance. 478

The tokens are not expected to appear on the conventional electronic book platform during the initial test. Exchanges are reportedly expected to work toward a secondary-market facility by December 2026, but that timetable depends on the pilot’s progress and on the necessary regulatory and technical implementation. 46

Why the experiment matters

The main question is not whether India can put a bond record on a blockchain. It is whether regulated digital infrastructure can connect securities ownership, payment and post-issuance servicing in a way that is faster and less operationally complex than existing processes.

If the REC pilot proceeds as reported, it would place India alongside European markets and Hong Kong, where blockchain-based bond issuance or settlement has also been tested or established. India’s proposed approach is notable for combining tokenised securities with an RBI wholesale CBDC, allowing regulators to examine a regulated digital delivery-versus-payment model. 123

For investors, however, the immediate implications are limited: access is restricted, liquidity is constrained by the lock-in, and the pilot is separate from a broad retail market. For policymakers and market infrastructure providers, the more important result will be whether the test produces a workable foundation for wider corporate-bond adoption.

What is confirmed—and what remains uncertain

The September launch, REC’s role and the reported sub-₹500 crore size come from reports citing sources with knowledge of the plan. The wallet requirements, three-month lock-in and December secondary-market target are likewise reported pilot details, rather than a complete public rulebook. 234

Other reporting has noted that SEBI had not confirmed every participating issuer, exchange, depository or financial institution, and that the launch date had not been formally confirmed in some updates. 6 The safest reading is therefore that India has an active tokenisation initiative and a reported REC launch plan, but the final terms and operational arrangements could still change.