The launch is subject to approval from the Reserve Bank of India.
The proposed contracts would provide investors an exchange-traded instrument to hedge exposure to corporate bonds and manage portfolio risk, NSE said.
India’s National Stock Exchange has received a no-objection certificate to introduce futures contracts linked to a corporate bond index. This initiative, pending approval from the Reserve Bank of India, aims to enhance investor risk management. As the corporate bond market grows, driven by corporate funding needs, the current secondary-market liquidity highlights a demand for better hedging tools.
India’s corporate bond market has grown in recent years as companies increasingly tap debt markets for funding, although secondary-market liquidity remains patchy and hedging tools are limited.
As of August 2026, total outstanding corporate bonds stood at 61.05 trillion rupees ($636.07 billion), according to a recent SEBI bulletin.
“A well-developed derivatives ecosystem can play an important role in strengthening the underlying corporate bond market by enabling more efficient risk transfer and supporting greater institutional participation,” NSE Chief Business Development Officer Sriram Krishnan said in a statement.
