SEBI Chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey announced plans to review disclosure norms for debt-only issuers under LODR regulations, aiming to boost corporate bond market participation. SEBI will launch a pilot on bond tokenisation using distributed ledger technology for faster settlement. Corporate bond market has grown from Rs 17.5 lakh crore (FY15) to Rs 59 lakh crore currently, with FY26 debt issuances mobilizing Rs 9.1 lakh crore. Retail awareness remains critically low at 10% with household penetration under 1%.

SEBI's proposed relaxation of disclosure norms for debt-only issuers addresses a fundamental asymmetry in Indian capital markets regulation. Currently, debt issuers face identical LODR compliance burdens as equity companies despite different risk profiles and investor bases. This creates unnecessary costs and entry barriers for pure debt players, limiting market depth. The corporate bond market, despite impressive 12% annual growth, suffers from poor retail participation due to complex access mechanisms and low awareness. Institutional dominance restricts liquidity and price discovery. SEBI's tokenisation pilot represents a technological leap toward T+0 settlement and automated servicing, potentially revolutionizing bond trading infrastructure. The regulator's focus on municipal bonds and distinct debt broker classification signals systematic efforts to create alternative credit channels beyond banking. With debt issuances already mobilizing twice the equity amount in FY26, these reforms could unlock massive retail capital for infrastructure financing, reducing bank dependency and supporting India's growth trajectory through diversified funding sources.