Mumbai: Larsen & Toubro (L&T) on Wednesday became the first private-sector corporate in India to raise funds through tokenised bonds, issuing ₹500 crore worth of three-year securities under the Securities and Exchange Board of India’s (SEBI) new blockchain-based framework.
The landmark issuance marks a key step in India’s push to digitise its corporate bond market using Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT), with settlement of funds done via a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) wallet.
What the deal entails
L&T raised ₹500 crore via tokenised bonds with a three-year tenure.
The issue was executed under SEBI’s newly introduced blockchain-based tokenisation framework for corporate bonds.
Settlement of funds was facilitated through a CBDC wallet, integrating tokenised securities with India’s emerging digital rupee infrastructure.
SEBI has positioned the framework as a way to enhance transparency, efficiency and digitalisation in the corporate bond market, while also aiming to widen participation and potentially improve liquidity.
Why it matters for India’s capital markets
Tokenisation converts traditional securities into digital tokens recorded on a blockchain, enabling near real-time tracking of ownership and transactions. For India, this move:
Introduces a DLT-based infrastructure for recording and managing bond transactions, which can reduce manual processes and reconciliation gaps.
Links tokenised securities with CBDC settlement, creating an end-to-end digital workflow from issuance to fund transfer.
Sets a precedent for other large corporates and financial institutions to explore blockchain-based fundraising, especially as regulators refine guidelines.
Market participants see this as a building block for a more modern, tech-driven debt ecosystem, where issuance, trading and settlement can become faster and more auditable.
L&T’s technology push
For L&T, the transaction aligns with its broader strategy of adopting technology-led solutions in capital-raising and treasury operations. The conglomerate, with revenues in the tens of billions of dollars and operations across EPC projects, hi-tech manufacturing and services, has increasingly emphasised AI and digital tools in recent years.
By being the first private-sector issuer in this new segment, L&T signals confidence in the regulatory framework and the underlying technology, potentially encouraging peers in infrastructure, manufacturing and finance to follow suit.
Regulatory context
SEBI’s framework comes at a time when global regulators are experimenting with tokenised assets, from bonds to money-market instruments. In India, the move complements the Reserve Bank of India’s ongoing pilots and rollouts around CBDC for wholesale and retail segments.
Key regulatory objectives behind such frameworks typically include:
Strengthening market integrity through immutable records of transactions.
Reducing settlement risk by integrating with central bank money (CBDC).
Creating a foundation for future innovations such as programmable bonds or automated coupon payments.
While SEBI has not disclosed all operational details in the press release, the emphasis on DLT and CBDC suggests a tightly controlled, institution-focused initial phase rather than a fully open, retail-facing market.
What could come next
If this pilot-scale issuance proves smooth in terms of pricing, subscription and post-issuance management, expectations are that:
More large corporates, especially in infrastructure and finance, may test tokenised bonds for specific tranches.
Banks and primary dealers could develop dedicated desks and platforms for DLT-based debt issuance and distribution.
Secondary-market liquidity mechanisms for tokenised bonds may be explored, subject to regulatory comfort and investor demand.
For now, L&T’s ₹500 crore, three-year tokenised bond stands as a proof-of-concept for India’s corporate debt market, demonstrating that blockchain-based issuance and CBDC settlement can work in a live, regulated environment.
