15 ) ; • issuances are concentrated in the aa or above rating, largely by public sector entities and financial institutions • a majority of the issuances are concentrated in the 2 – 5 year tenor ; • limited / narrow investor base. investment mandates of institutional investors such as insurance companies, pension funds and provident funds do not permit large investment in corporate bonds ; • reissuance of bonds has not picked up ; • lack of functional trading platform with ccp facility like nds - om ( as available in government securities market ) impedes the growth of secondary market ; • market for credit risk protection instruments like cds has not yet developed ; • non - standardized stamp duties on corporate bonds across various states affects issuances. way forward 9. activating the corporate bond market will require a number of regulatory measures to address both the macro issues as well as the market micro - structure issues. while creating an efficient market infrastructure will create conditions for issuers and investors, the structural issues can be addressed over the longer term as the market evolves and the financial system gets more integrated with international markets. it would be convenient to look at the set of issues in a comprehensive manner. i would like to classify some of the possible measures in the “ 7i ” framework which i had talked about in one of my earlier speeches. bis central bankers ’ speeches issuer reissuance of bonds 10. corporates may be encouraged to re - issue existing bonds under the same isin code. this will augment market liquidity and potentially reduce the cost of borrowings. though sebi has recently allowed reissuances by the corporates, there has not been any reissue of bonds by any corporate. in order to encourage reissuances, there may be a need for some incentives in the form reduced documentation formalities, less issuance fees, etc. issuance of municipal bonds 11. an active corporate bond market would enable market for municipal bonds issued by the urban local bodies ( ulbs ). the potential for issuing municipal bonds assumes importance in the context of the proposal to set up 100 smart cities. however, the size of the municipal bond market in india is rather limited and is distributed over a few strong municipalities of ahmadabad, nasik, nagpur, etc. the possible reasons could be overlapping jurisdiction on municipal bodies leading to plethora of rules ; perceived lack of specialized project management support in ulbs ; non - transparent budgeting and accounting systems in many of the ulbs

of inflation coming back and growth slowing down do remain. the headwinds from geopolitical conflicts, geoeconomic fragmentation, commodity price volatility and climate change continue to blow. 4. during this entire period of great volatility, maintaining price and financial stability have posed difficult trade - offs, as evident – among others – from the banking sector turmoil in certain advanced economies in 2023. the challenge is always between doing too little or too late on the one hand ; and doing 3 chapter 2, world economic outlook, imf, october 2024. too much or too early on the other. reading the interplay between monetary policy actions and the developments in the financial sector as well as the evolving situation correctly, and timing the decisions are always challenging. central banks have by and large performed well this time around. 5. in this challenging global environment, let me highlight certain contradictions globally which we observe at the current juncture. first, government bond yields are rising even as many advanced economies have embarked on an easing path through rate cuts, underscoring the fact that treasury markets are influenced by a host of global and domestic factors that are much beyond mere policy adjustments. incidentally, even the us dollar is appreciating although the fed is cutting rates. second, undeterred by the strong us dollar and higher bond yields, prices of gold and oil - the two commodities that typically move in tandem - are showing sharp divergence. third, an interesting contrast is also emerging between rising geopolitical risks and financial market volatility. while geopolitical tensions have escalated steadily in recent years, financial markets have shown considerable resilience in the face of mounting uncertainties. fourth, global trade is projected to remain higher than the previous year 4 notwithstanding the sanctions, tariffs, import duties, rising cross - border restrictions and supply chain disruptions. fifth, the emerging market economies ( emes ) have shown greater resilience than advanced economies ( aes ) in the current phase. indian context 6. amidst these headwinds and contradictions, the indian economy is sailing through smoothly, powered by buffers like strong macro - economic fundamentals, stable financial system and resilient external sector. our endeavour has been to seize every opportunity to further strengthen our fundamentals through prudent and proactive policy approach. our prime focus has 4 world merchandise trade volume is projected to grow by 2. 7 per cent in 2024 and 3 per cent in 2025 as