An IMC Chamber of Commerce report notes India's corporate bond market is underdeveloped at 18% of GDP. It outlines a roadmap to double market depth to 35% by 2030 by increasing retail participation and extending average bond tenor.
India's corporate bond market is significantly underdeveloped at 18% of country's GDP, while its peer economies like South Korea and Malaysia have their corporate bond market stand at 80-120% of their GDP, says a report by IMC Chamber of Commerce which was released on Monday by PM-EAC Member Sanjeev Sanyal during IMC Capital Market Conference 2026 at Mumbai's NSE.
Named "Building the Bond: Financing Viksit Bharat (2026)," the IMC report aims to outline a strategic roadmap to transform India's corporate bond market to support its 2047 economic goals.
Report Highlights Market Deficiencies, Sets 2030 Goals
In the report, the IMC Chamber of Commerce and Industry stated that India's corporate bond market is currently characterised by low liquidity, a lack of retail participation--only 80,000 investors --and a short average bond tenor--4.2 years --which is insufficient for long-term infrastructure needs. In this report, the IMC states that the Indian capital bond market can double its market depth to 35% by 2030 by increasing retail investor participation to 10 million and nearly doubling the average bond tenor to 8.5 years.
Three-Pronged Strategy for Market Development
Among other things, the report claims the development in the capital bond markets is planned through immediate and near-term actions through three means. First, bring India-TRACE -- a mandate for real-time publication of all bond trades to ensure price transparency, second, via lower entry barriers -- reducing the minimum bond investment lot from Rs 10,000 to Rs 1,000 to make it accessible to middle-class households, and third, via Bharat Bond Direct -- by launching a mobile-first, UPI-native platform for retail bond investing.
Structural Changes and Fiscal Measures
The report also mentioned structural institutional changes where a proposed Bond Market Development Council (BMDC) would coordinate efforts between the Finance Ministry, SEBI, and RBI. It added suggested key fiscal measures, including creating a Rs 25,000-50,000 crore guarantee facility (IIBGF) to help greenfield infrastructure projects achieve "bondable" AA credit ratings. (ANI)
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