NEW DELHI: Bloomberg Index Services Ltd (BISL) has extended its review of Indian government bonds for possible inclusion in the Bloomberg Global Aggregate Index, saying more work is needed to assess operational readiness and market infrastructure.
BISL said initial feedback from market participants has been broadly encouraging, but stressed that some operational and infrastructure-related issues still need further evaluation before a final decision can be taken. The index provider said it will continue consultations with investors, index users, custodians, regulators and government authorities during the review.
The ongoing assessment is focused on identifying potential improvements in market infrastructure and post-trade processes, which remain critical to the inclusion decision.
BISL said it expects to provide another update by mid-2026, at which point it will clarify the next steps on whether Indian government bonds will be added to the index.
The Bloomberg Global Aggregate Index is closely followed by global investors, and inclusion could result in substantial foreign inflows into India’s government bond market.
It is to be noted that Bloomberg has already included India in its emerging market local currency bond index in January 2025.
It was considering including Indian bonds in the global aggregate index, which has a larger pool of funds tracking it, and was seeking investor feedback.
JP Morgan was the first to include Indian government bonds in its GBI-EM Global index in June 2024.