India to Launch Tokenized Corporate Bonds Worth $57 Million in September

India is set to launch its first tokenized corporate bonds in September as part of a pilot project involving blockchain-based transactions settled using a central bank digital currency (CBDC).

The bonds, worth less than $57 million, will be issued by REC Limited, a state-controlled Indian power infrastructure finance company.

The pilot will initially be open to a select group of investors and could be unveiled at an annual financial technology event in Mumbai in September.

Investors will need two digital accounts to participate: a wholesale CBDC wallet provided by a bank and a new electronic securities wallet, known as DEMAT 2.0, which is being developed by Indian securities depositories using distributed ledger technology.