NSE facilitates India's first tokenised corporate bond issuances; L&T, REC raise Rs 1,000 crore

NSE has taken a step towards building digital bond infrastructure in India by facilitating the country's first tokenised corporate bond issuances, with REC Ltd and Larsen & Toubro Ltd raising a combined Rs 1,000 crore through the exchange's Electronic Bidding Platform (NSE EBP). The issuances were carried out under the Securities and Exchange Board of India's (SEBI) Regulatory Sandbox Framework and mark the first use of tokenisation technology for corporate bonds on NSE EBP.

The technology was formally unveiled on September 10, 2026, by Shri Sanjay Malhotra, Governor, Reserve Bank of India, and Shri Tuhin Kanta Pandey, Chairman, Securities and Exchange Board of India, at the Global Fintech Fest 2026 in Mumbai.

The first tokenised corporate bond issuance in the country was launched by REC Limited on NSE EBP with a base issue of Rs 100 crore and a green shoe option of Rs 400 crore. The issue received an overall subscription of 7.9 times the base issue, with REC accepting Rs 500 crore at a 7.30 per cent coupon rate.

The bidding process saw participation from State Bank of India, SBI DFHI, Larsen & Toubro, AK Capital Finance, HDFC Mutual Fund, TaurrusFinsec, The Wealth Company Mutual Fund and Central Depository Services (India). AK Capital Services, Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, ICICI Securities Primary Dealership, PNB GILTS, SBI Capital Markets, STCI Primary Dealer, Taurus Corporate Advisory Services, Trust Investment Advisors and Yes Bank acted as arrangers for the issuance.

This was followed by Larsen & Toubro Limited’s Rs 500 crore tokenised corporate bond issuance on NSE EBP, demonstrating the application of the technology by a private sector issuer and marking a step towards broader adoption of tokenisation in the corporate bond market.

The bidding process saw participation from State Bank of India, Yes Bank, HDFC Mutual Fund, SBI Mutual Fund and National Securities Depository Limited. Trust Investment Advisors, Axis Bank and Yes Bank acted as arrangers for the issuance.

Tokenisation enables securities to be represented and managed digitally using Distributed Ledger Technology. The technology is designed to facilitate atomic settlement, enhance transparency and improve operational efficiency across the securities lifecycle, while leveraging India’s established digital settlement infrastructure.

NSE is committed to be at the forefront of technology-led innovation in India’s capital markets. The successful implementation of tokenisation technology for corporate bonds with India’s first-ever tokenised bond issuances by REC and L&T on NSE EBP, marks another important milestone in this journey and demonstrates our ability to translate emerging technologies into scalable solutions for regulated market infrastructure, said Viral Mody, Executive Director at NSE.

"The emphasis on tokenisation by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi at the Global Fintech Fest highlights the transformative potential of this technology. We are grateful to SEBI and RBI for their continued guidance and support in enabling responsible innovation. NSE remains committed to advancing technology-led market infrastructure," he added.

Mumbai-based NSE began operations in 1994 and was the first exchange in India to implement electronic, or screen-based, trading. It has a fully integrated business model comprising exchange listings, trading services, clearing and settlement services, indices and market data feeds.

NSE also oversees compliance by trading and clearing members, and listed companies, with the rules and regulations of SEBI and the exchange. With the REC and Larsen & Toubro issuances, NSE EBP has enabled India’s first tokenised bond issuances worth Rs 1,000 crore.