India launches Demat 2.0 pilot for tokenized corporate bonds

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has launched the Demat 2.0 pilot project, enabling the issuance of corporate bonds as digital tokens on a distributed ledger. Settlements are conducted using the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) wholesale digital rupee. Major entities including REC, Larsen & Toubro, and IIFL Finance have already utilized the system to raise over 1 billion rupees (approximately $114 million) in total.