Overview
- The report, released by CEO B.V.R. Subrahmanyam, positions a deeper bond market as essential to India’s Viksit Bharat 2047 goals.
- Outstanding corporate bonds rose from Rs 17.5 trillion in FY2015 to Rs 53.6 trillion in FY2025, or roughly 15–16% of GDP, yet the market trails peers such as South Korea, Malaysia and China.
- NITI Aayog proposes tax steps including an 80C-style window for corporate bonds, parity in long-term capital gains, lower withholding tax for FPIs, and clearer FPI treatment via IFSCs like GIFT City.
- The report flags structural frictions—overlapping regulation by SEBI, RBI and MCA, shallow secondary liquidity, high transaction costs, weak recovery frameworks, and a market dominated by private placements with retail holdings under 2%.
- A three-phase roadmap spans near-term streamlining and digital market infrastructure, medium-term institutional capacity-building, and longer-term options like a dedicated bond regulator and cross-border digital platforms.