Shri B.V.R. Subrahmanyam, CEO, NITI Aayog, released the report titled “Deepening the Corporate Bond Market in India” on 11^th December, 2025, in New Delhi. The release took place in the distinguished presence of senior officials of NITI Aayog.

CEO, NITI Aayog said “India’s journey toward the vision of Viksit Bharat requires a robust and diversified financial ecosystem capable of mobilising long-term capital at scale. This report underscores how a deeper and more efficient corporate bond market will be central to enabling that transition by expanding market access, improving liquidity, and strengthening investor participation.”

In addition to offering a comprehensive overview of India’s corporate bond market landscape, the report outlines a reform-oriented roadmap to build a deeper, more resilient, and inclusive bond market capable of supporting India’s long-term investment requirements. The report includes a comparative analysis with global markets, highlights structural gaps, and offers targeted recommendations to strengthen legal, regulatory, and market infrastructure frameworks.

A deep and vibrant corporate bond market is essential for mobilising long-term, low-cost financing that India needs to realise its developmental goals. By diversifying funding sources beyond the banking system, corporate bonds enable more efficient risk sharing, strengthen financial stability, and support productive sectors with stable, market-based capital. As India advances toward its broader vision, a well-functioning bond market becomes a critical pillar for sustaining investment and supporting long-term growth. Although the market has expanded over the past decade with rising outstanding volumes, improved regulatory frameworks, and increasing investor interest, it still remains constrained by limited market depth, concentrated investor profiles, and modest secondary-market activity. India’s corporate bond market holds substantial untapped potential for further deepening.

The report highlights the opportunity for the corporate bond market to play an even greater role in mobilising capital for infrastructure, MSMEs, green and transition finance, and emerging sectors. Drawing on international experience, the study outlines a sequenced set of reforms across several fronts such as strengthening the legal and regulatory framework; enhancing market infrastructure and transparency; facilitating greater issuance by mid-size firms; broadening participation of insurance, pension and retail investors; expanding product offerings such instruments with credit enhancement, long-tenor bonds, and sustainability-linked products; improving liquidity in both primary and secondary market through deeper market-making and repo facilities; and leveraging digital innovations including tokenised bonds and integrated data systems.

Speaking on the occasion, Shri B.V.R. Subrahmanyam congratulated the team for preparing a detailed and analytically rich report that captures the evolution of India’s corporate bond ecosystem and provides forward-looking solutions. He noted that deepening the bond market is critical to reducing over-reliance on bank credit, improving capital allocation efficiency, and mobilising private finance to support India’s development priorities. He emphasised that a stronger, more diversified corporate bond market will be central to securing long-term, stable, and affordable financing and to achieving India’s Viksit Bharat @2047 vision. “The recommendations outlined in this report offer a practical blueprint for improving capital market transparency, widening the investor base, supporting lower-rated issuers, and modernising market infrastructure in line with global practices,” he said.

The full report can be accessed at: https://niti.gov.in/sites/default/files/2025-12/Deepening_the_Corporate_Bond_Market_in_India.pdf

Corporate bond market reforms to deepen issuance, improve liquidity, broaden investor participation, and enhance market infrastructure. A reform-oriented roadmap is proposed to deepen India's corporate bond market by strengthening legal, regulatory and market infrastructure to mobilise long-term capital and reduce reliance on bank credit. The report highlights structural gaps-limited market depth, concentrated investor profiles, and modest secondary-market activity-and recommends enhancing transparency, market-making and repo facilities, broadening participation of insurance, pension and retail investors, facilitating issuance by mid-size and lower-rated firms, expanding product offerings including credit-enhanced and sustainability-linked bonds, and leveraging digital innovations such as tokenised bonds.