The National Law School of India University (NLSIU), Bengaluru, in collaboration with Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas (SAM) & Co., has released a white paper titled “Designing a Framework for Asset Tokenisation in India.” The study was completed in December 2025.

Authored by Dr. Sudhanshu Kumar, Associate Professor of Law, NLSIU; Varsha Aithala, Assistant Professor of Law, NLSIU; Karthik Suresh, Assistant Professor of Law, NLSIU; and Shinjini Mitra, Academic Fellow, NLSIU, along with along with Ms Shilpa Mankar Ahluwalia, Head of the FinTech Practice Group and Co-Head of the Banking & Finance Practice Group, SAM & Co. and Ms Purva Anand, Associate, Financial Regulatory and FinTech vertical, SAM & Co., the white paper examines the emerging landscape of asset tokenisation and its implications for India’s financial and regulatory systems.

Reimagining Ownership and Financial Systems

Asset tokenisation is increasingly reshaping financial systems globally. By enabling the digital representation of rights and interests in assets, tokenisation has the potential to make transactions faster, reduce operational and compliance costs, and expand access to investment opportunities.

At its core, tokenisation allows high-value assets to be broken into smaller, more accessible units, while also enabling the bundling and unbundling of rights associated with both physical and intangible assets. While the underlying technology may appear complex, the white paper frames tokenisation as an extension of established legal and economic principles.

The Need for Regulatory Clarity

As tokenisation continues to evolve, the need for regulatory clarity has become increasingly urgent. For India, this moment presents an opportunity to shape a forward-looking and contextually grounded framework.

The white paper highlights the importance of coordinated engagement between policymakers, regulators, industry stakeholders, and users to define taxonomies, regulatory categories, and key legal considerations.

Key Contributions of the White Paper

The paper provides a structured and comprehensive approach to understanding and regulating tokenisation in India:

• Conceptual Foundations: An introduction to tokenisation, including the lifecycle of tokens and their functional characteristics
• Legal Analysis: Examination of how tokens intersect with existing Indian laws on contracts, property, securities, payments, consumer protection, and foreign exchange
• Token Classification Framework: A practical taxonomy categorising tokens into securities, investment, and ownership tokens, supported by real-world examples
• Comparative Insights: Analysis of regulatory approaches across six international jurisdictions
• Policy Pathway: A phased framework for India, balancing innovation with regulatory safeguards

Towards a Phased and Parallel Framework

Rather than proposing a complete overhaul of existing systems, the white paper recommends a phased and parallel approach, allowing tokenised markets to develop alongside current regulatory and market structures. Over time, these systems can integrate as legal certainty, infrastructure, and regulatory capacity mature.

The paper offers a directional policy perspective, focusing on taxonomy, regulatory design choices, inter-agency coordination, and the role of sandbox-led experimentation.

Advancing the National Conversation

This collaborative effort seeks to contribute meaningfully to India’s evolving discourse on digital asset infrastructure. By outlining both conceptual foundations and actionable policy pathways, the white paper aims to support the development of a balanced, innovation-friendly, and future-ready regulatory framework for asset tokenisation in India.

Read the White Paper here.