REC Issued India’s First Pilot Issue on Tokenized Corporate Bonds

REC, a Maharatna Central Public Sector Enterprise (CPSE) under the Ministry of Power and a leading NBFC-IFC, has achieved a landmark milestone in India’s capital markets by issuance of India’s First Pilot Issue on Tokenized Corporate Bonds under the SEBI Regulatory Sandbox Framework.

The size of the pilot issue was Rs 500 crore (base issue of Rs 100 crore with a green shoe option of Rs 400 crore) and bidding was undertaken at EBP platform of National Stock Exchange of India Limited (NSE). Demonstrating deep investor confidence and enthusiasm for cutting-edge market innovations, the issue received an overwhelming market response from investors, clocking a book building of Rs 796 crore (oversubscribed by ~8x). REC has accepted Rs 500 crore at a coupon rate of 7.30% per annum for a tenor of 1 year 9 months.

The success of this pilot issue reflects the forward-looking vision and coordinated commitment of SEBI, the RBI, and all participating Market Infrastructure Institutions (MIIs)—including NPCI, depositories and stock exchanges. The tokenised mode enabled faster settlement, with pay-in, allotment and listing of the bonds on the same day. The bonds are listed on NSE and BSE Limited.

Speaking on the milestone, Rajesh Kumar, Director (Finance), REC said: "We express our deepest appreciation to SEBI for its visionary leadership in strengthening India's capital markets through progressive regulations, active stakeholder consultation, and technology-driven reforms. SEBI’s continued focus on ease of doing business, improved market efficiency, and faster turnaround of regulatory processes has significantly enhanced the depth and resilience of India's financial markets."

This issuance represents a transformative leap forward in India’s capital market, introducing atomic Delivery-versus-Payment (DvP) settlement and shared-ledger transparency.

"The Demat 2.0 initiative and tokenisation of corporate bonds represent a landmark step in the evolution of India's debt markets. By leveraging digital infrastructure, distributed ledger technology, and CBDC-enabled settlement while preserving existing investor protections and regulatory safeguards, SEBI is laying the foundation for the next generation of capital market infrastructure," said Rajesh Kumar.