Reserve Bank of India to start tokenized certificates of deposit pilot

The Reserve Bank of India will begin a pilot on tokenized certificates of deposit on Wednesday, according to information shared by the central bank at an event in Mumbai on Tuesday.

The plan is to use the wholesale segment of its central bank digital currency (CBDC) to issue and settle these instruments.

Chief General Manager Suvendu Pati confirmed that the RBI is working with “a few banks” on the project and explained that the goal is to explore how blockchain-based crypto tokens can streamline traditional money market operations.

Pati said, “From a regulatory standpoint for tokenisation of an underlying asset, we believe integrity and enforceability have to be established.” He added that while the process carries some level of risk, those risks “are manageable and can be addressed through regulatory guardrails.”

Pati also revealed that the central bank is looking to expand this experiment to other money market instruments, such as commercial papers, as part of its broader digital initiative.

The goal is simple: build a faster, safer, and cheaper financial system built on tokenized assets that can be traded within a tightly regulated environment in India.

RBI moves ahead as India’s economy beats forecasts

The pilot lands right after India reports a stronger-than-expected economic growth rate of 7.8% for the quarter ending in June. The increase was fueled by manufacturing, construction, and services, which grew 7.7%, 7.6%, and 9.3%, respectively.

That performance beat the 6.7% expansion forecasted by economists in a Reuters poll. But even with the upbeat headline numbers, analysts warned that there are signs of slowing momentum beneath the surface.

Nominal GDP, which doesn’t account for inflation or deflation, slipped to 8.8% during April to June, down from 10.8% in the previous quarter.

Anubhuti Sahay, head of Indian economic research at Standard Chartered, said, “Nominal GDP growth is lower than previous quarters but because the deflator is so soft that the real GDP looks extremely strong.” The deflator, she explained, reflects how inflation affects total output.

Despite those nuances, Sahay pointed out that corporate sector earnings in manufacturing have remained strong, keeping momentum intact. The combination of a resilient real economy and ongoing digital innovation from the RBI paints a picture of a country testing both its financial infrastructure and its growth limits.

The new pilot sits squarely inside that experiment, marrying traditional financial instruments with blockchain-backed tokens to see what happens when the two worlds meet.

India pushes deeper into financial inclusion

At the same time, India is undergoing a massive transformation in personal finance. The country is trying to convert millions of low-income earners into stock market investors, pushing people who’ve relied on cash and gold into the world of equities.

The initiative relies on bite-sized mutual fund plans that start from as little as 250 rupees ($3) per month. If this effort works, India’s $880 billion mutual fund industry could unlock a chunk of household savings large enough to fuel $9.5 trillion in new inflows into financial assets over the next decade, a projection shared by Goldman Sachs.

The program began in February and is backed by India’s securities regulator. It’s targeting small savers across rural areas, enabling investments too small to interest traditional fund houses. The effect is already visible.

Equity funds have seen 54 straight months of net inflows through August, with monthly equity plans averaging $3 billion in new contributions since April, data from the Association of Mutual Funds in India shows.

Data from Bloomberg shows that these record inflows have genuinely helped stabilize local markets against record foreign outflows this year and kept the NSE Nifty 50 Index far above its pandemic lows, even as global investors turn cautious.

Now the effort is expanding even further, as the Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI) plans to partner with India Post to train about 20,000 postal employees in its first year. Their mission: to sell these bite-sized plans in villages that still lack basic access to financial products.

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