Corporate bonds hit ₹61 lakh crore: SEBI pushes for deeper and more liquid debt markets

India’s corporate bond market has expanded sharply over the past decade, with outstanding bonds rising to around ₹61 lakh crore from ₹20 lakh crore in FY2015-16, SEBI Chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey said. He said the regulator is now focusing on improving liquidity, price discovery and participation across the debt-market ecosystem.

Corporate bond market expands

Addressing the 11th J.P. Morgan India Conference on September 22, Pandey said more than ₹4.3 lakh crore had already been raised through corporate bonds in FY2026-27.

“In corporate bonds, our approach has been to develop the entire market ecosystem - not merely increase issuance,” Pandey said.

According to the SEBI Chairman, a deeper corporate bond market requires more than higher issuance volumes. It needs a wider base of issuers, improved price discovery, broader participation and stronger secondary-market liquidity.

“A deeper market requires a wider issuer base, better price discovery, broader participation and greater secondary-market liquidity,” he said.

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SEBI focuses on market depth

Pandey said SEBI’s reforms have therefore covered multiple parts of the corporate bond ecosystem, including issuance, distribution, market infrastructure and investor understanding.

The regulator has also launched Demat 2.0, a pilot for tokenisation of corporate bonds on a private, permissioned distributed-ledger technology network operated by depositories.

Looking ahead, SEBI is working on measures aimed at adding another layer of depth to the corporate bond market. These include developing a comprehensive market-making framework covering liquidity, market infrastructure and repo access.

Wider distribution through online platforms

SEBI is also consulting on Fixed Income Channel Partners to widen the distribution of corporate bonds through regulated online bond platforms.

Another proposal is the Credit Risk-o-Meter, which is intended to make credit risk easier for investors to understand.

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“Access must widen, but understanding must widen with it,” Pandey said.

The initiatives come as India’s broader capital markets continue to expand. The country’s equity market capitalisation stands at around $5 trillion, while more than ₹100 trillion has been raised through equity and debt issuances over the past decade.

Deeper markets and better liquidity

Pandey said SEBI’s broader approach is to deepen markets while calibrating regulation to risk and maintaining investor safeguards.

The regulator is also looking to widen participation in the cash market and improve securities borrowing and lending, while supporting hedging and arbitrage.

“The objective is better liquidity, stronger price discovery and more efficient interaction between the cash and derivatives markets,” Pandey said.

For the corporate bond market specifically, the focus is shifting from simply increasing issuance towards building the infrastructure and participation needed for a deeper secondary market.

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