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The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has started a pilot on bond tokenisation, with the technology expected to enable instant settlement and reduce settlement and counterparty risks in the corporate bond market, SEBI Executive Director Maninder Cheema said.

Pilot to Enable Instant Settlement, Reduce Risk

Speaking exclusively to ANI on the sidelines of the Global Fintech Fest 2026, Cheema said corporate bonds are well suited to being issued in the form of tokens and that the pilot will help explore how tokenisation can be applied to the bond market. "Tokenization is a step forward which moves us forward on the settlement side. It will help bring about instant settlement on T0 basis and reduce what is called settlement risk and counterparty risk," Cheema said.

She said the Global Fintech Fest provides an opportunity to showcase new technology initiatives to the public and market participants and help them understand how such products could work. "One of the topics which has been explored in this year's fintech has been tokenization and SEBI has started the pilot on bond tokenization," she said.

Next Step in Bond Market Evolution

Cheema noted that fintech has already contributed to the development of India's bond market by making corporate bonds more accessible to retail investors through Online Bond Platform Providers (OBPPs). According to her, tokenisation represents the next step in the use of technology in the bond market, particularly by improving the settlement process.

Currently at Pilot Stage

The SEBI official, however, said the initiative is currently at the pilot stage and its broader rollout would depend on how the pilot progresses. "We are at pilot stage. Let's see how it rolls out," she said.

Strengthening Market Infrastructure

The Global Fintech Fest, now in its seventh edition, also provides a platform to explore emerging technologies across areas such as artificial intelligence, quantum technology and cybersecurity. Cheema said that from the perspective of the bond market, tokenisation was a particular highlight of this year's event.

Bond tokenisation involves representing ownership or claims over bonds through digital tokens on a technological infrastructure, with the potential to streamline transactions and settlement.

The pilot is part of SEBI's efforts to examine how emerging financial technologies can be applied to strengthen market infrastructure and improve the functioning of India's securities markets.