FAST READ
- RBI and SEBI launched the Demat 2.0 pilot to test tokenised corporate bonds and faster settlement using distributed-ledger technology and wholesale CBDC.
- The pilot began with 3 issuances, including a Rs 500 crore Larsen & Toubro bond issue.
- It seeks to integrate the securities and settlement legs while preserving legal certainty of ownership.
WHY IN NEWS
- Demat 2.0 was launched at Global Fintech Fest 2026 and became a major financial-sector current-affairs topic on 11 September.
- The pilot tests whether tokenisation can reduce settlement friction without weakening investor protection, market integrity or legal clarity.
TOP DATA & FACTS
- Demat 1.0 was introduced in India in 1996.
- Demat 2.0 was launched in September 2026.
- The pilot started with 3 corporate-bond issuances.
- One initial Larsen & Toubro issuance was Rs 500 crore.
- The settlement asset used in the pilot is RBI's wholesale Central Bank Digital Currency.
- Distributed Ledger Technology is used to record tokenised securities.
- Depositories involved include NSDL and CDSL.
- Market infrastructure participants include BSE and NSE.
- Banks participating include major regulated entities such as SBI, HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank in the broader pilot ecosystem.
- NPCI is also part of the collaborative financial-technology ecosystem described at launch.
- Tokenisation can permit programmable asset servicing through smart-contract functions.
- The pilot seeks faster settlement by bringing the security and payment legs closer together.
- After bonds, tokenisation may be explored for other asset classes subject to regulation.
- India's fintech ecosystem was described at the event as the world's third-largest, with around 30 fintech unicorns.
PRELIMS
- CBDC is a liability of the central bank, unlike privately issued crypto-assets.
- NSDL and CDSL are securities depositories.
- Tokenisation changes the representation and transfer architecture of an asset; it does not by itself remove securities-law obligations.
- Wholesale CBDC is designed primarily for transactions among regulated financial institutions.
- Delivery-versus-payment links transfer of a security with the corresponding payment leg.
- A tokenised bond remains subject to applicable securities law and investor-protection requirements.