Key Highlights
- India’s Maharashtra state is developing a framework to tokenize government-owned infrastructure, focusing on electricity transmission networks
- Officials plan to raise capital through token sales to finance expansion of power grids and solar energy storage facilities
- SEBI’s tokenized corporate bond pilot successfully raised $107 million through blockchain-based issuance
- The Demat 2.0 platform enabled three corporations to issue bonds with instant settlement via wholesale central bank digital currency
- The state’s leadership has commissioned development of the DELTA Act, a blockchain-focused property tokenization statute
India’s Maharashtra state is advancing plans to digitize state-controlled assets using blockchain technology. Praveen Pardeshi, who leads MITRA, the state’s policy development organization, revealed these initiatives during an exclusive gathering organized by RealX, a real estate tokenization platform, in Mumbai.
According to Pardeshi, the state’s electricity transmission network represents the primary target for tokenization. While these power transmission assets generate consistent revenue streams through fees, the capital locked within them remains difficult to reallocate for other purposes.
The state currently produces excess solar energy but lacks sufficient grid infrastructure to transport this power to areas of high demand. Tokenizing portions of existing transmission assets could provide a solution to this infrastructure challenge, Pardeshi explained.
Mechanics of the Asset Tokenization Strategy
Under the proposed framework, approximately 40% to 50% of transmission infrastructure would be converted into digital tokens. Individuals purchasing these tokens would earn proportional income from the revenue these assets produce. Proceeds from token sales would finance construction of additional transmission capacity and solar energy storage systems.
Pardeshi emphasized that this approach differs fundamentally from privatization. “Tokenization doesn’t mean privatization wholesale; it means circulating the capital to a larger number of holders,” he explained.
He referenced Express Towers, a Mumbai commercial property tokenized through a Real Estate Investment Trust framework, as a successful precedent for this approach.
Maharashtra’s energy pricing dynamics underscore the economic rationale. Distribution companies pay between 16 and 18 rupees per kilowatt-hour during peak demand periods, while exchange-traded power costs merely 2 paisa during oversupply periods. Enhanced transmission infrastructure and storage capacity, financed through tokenized assets, could help balance these price extremes.
This tokenization initiative complements separate legislative efforts. In July, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis instructed government officials to prepare the Maharashtra Digitisation and Exchange of Land Token Assets Act, abbreviated as DELTA Act. Enactment would establish Maharashtra as India’s pioneer state with comprehensive blockchain property tokenization legislation. The proposed bill remains under development.
SEBI Introduces Tokenized Corporate Bond Program
On the federal level, the Securities and Exchange Board of India unveiled a tokenized corporate bond pilot program this week through the Demat 2.0 infrastructure.
Three corporations collectively raised 10.25 billion rupees, approximately $107 million, through this experimental program. Government-backed financial institution REC secured 5 billion rupees from 18 institutional investors. Engineering conglomerate Larsen and Toubro obtained an additional 5 billion rupees from four investors. Financial services provider IIFL raised 250 million rupees from a single investor.
The platform operates on distributed ledger technology integrated with the Reserve Bank of India’s wholesale central bank digital currency infrastructure. Atomic settlement capability ensures simultaneous transfer of bonds and payment, eliminating the conventional two-to-three day settlement period.
Investors can maintain these bonds in their current Demat accounts without completing additional identity verification procedures. SEBI announced that India becomes the first nation to integrate native bond creation on distributed ledgers, depository-maintained records, and CBDC settlement within a regulated financial market framework.
Future expansions of Demat 2.0 will introduce secondary market trading capabilities and retail investor participation.
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