An Empirical Assessment of India’s Position in Global Sustainable Bond Market

The Indian sustainable debt market has grown significantly, dominated by green bonds, but green finance is still at a nascent stage in India. This paper tries to assess India’s relative position in green bond market with reference to world market on the basis of listing and trading information of global sustainable bond markets. Disaggregate level data retrieve from Luxembourg Green Exchange from 1999 to 2024 and SEBI, NSE and Climate Bond Initiatives for Indian Sustainable Bond Market used for this research. The empirical evidence suggest green bond has capture maximum market share in the global market. Luxembourg Green Exchange has maximum variability of bond coupon as well as duration (in months) of bond maturity. EUR, USD widely used currency used for bond trading, while INR has limited presence in the global market. World Bank is the highest issuing institute for both for Green Bonds and Sustainable Bonds in global market. Indian private sector has 84% market share in Indian sustainable bond market. Indian Companies have been involved in issuing green, social, and sustainability bonds, as well as innovative debt instruments such as Sustainability-Linked Bonds and skill impact bonds. However, there are several challenges faced by the green bond market in India, including the lack of a standardized framework for green bonds, limited investor awareness, and the need for more robust disclosure and reporting standards. Increased standardization, openness, and alignment with national and international best practices in policy formulation are essential for the development of India's sustainable finance sector.