REC issues pilot tokenised corporate bonds under SEBI regulatory sandbox framework

REC Limited has issued India’s first pilot tokenised corporate bond under the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) regulatory sandbox framework, raising Rs 5 billion. The issue comprised a base size of Rs 1 billion and a green shoe option of Rs 4 billion and received bids worth Rs 7.96 billion through the National Stock Exchange of India Limited (NSE) electronic bidding platform. REC accepted Rs 5 billion at a coupon rate of 7.30 per cent per annum for a tenor of one year and nine months.

Furthermore, the tokenised issuance enabled same-day pay-in, allotment and listing, with the bonds being listed on NSE and Bombay Stock Exchange Limited. The issuance incorporates atomic delivery-versus-payment settlement and shared-ledger transparency, while securities ownership under the Demat 2.0 framework is recorded and tracked through a permissioned distributed ledger.

In February 2026, REC Limited became a subsidiary of PFC Limited following PFC’s acquisition of a 52.63 per cent stake held by the Government of India in REC. The acquisition followed the restructuring of PFC and REC proposed in the Union Budget 2026-27 and is expected to create a major lender for the power sector upon completion of the merger.