India Launches Blockchain-Based Corporate Bond Payment Pilot Linked to CBDC

India's Securities and Exchange Board (SEBI) has launched a blockchain-based pilot program for corporate bond payments called 'Demat 2.0,' according to CoinDesk. The program issues corporate bonds in tokenized form on a distributed ledger, linked to the Reserve Bank of India's institutional digital rupee, enabling simultaneous transfer of bonds and payment settlement. Existing terms such as interest rates, maturity dates, and investor rights remain unchanged, with future phases planned to include secondary market trading and retail investor participation.