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India plans September pilot of tokenized bonds using wholesale CBDC
India is planning a September pilot of tokenized corporate bonds using the Reserve Bank of India's wholesale central bank digital currency, with state-owned REC issuing the debt.
India plans to test tokenized corporate bonds in a September pilot program using the Reserve Bank of India's wholesale central bank digital currency, according to Cointelegraph. The state-controlled Rural Electrification Corporation (REC) will serve as the bond issuer, with payments to be made in wholesale e-Rupee. Wholesale CBDCs differ from retail versions: they are designed for bank-to-bank and institutional settlement rather than consumer payments. By testing tokenized debt on a wholesale CBDC rail, India's central bank is exploring how distributed ledger technology can streamline the issuance and settlement of government-backed corporate securities. The pilot brings together three layers of financial infrastructure: tokenization (converting a traditional bond into a digital asset), central bank money (the e-Rupee settlement layer), and a state-owned issuer. The structure lets the RBI observe how blockchain-based settlement performs with institutional-grade fixed income products.
India plans a September 2026 pilot of tokenized corporate bonds settled in wholesale CBDC (RBI e-Rupee), issued by state-controlled REC.
Watch for the pilot's launch date and initial participation levels. If the test scales to larger bond issuances or includes other state-backed issuers, it would signal India is building a tokenized debt market. If it remains a confined sandbox, it suggests the RBI is still evaluating the technical and operational case for wholesale CBDC securities settlement.
And that's the way it is.
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