Maharashtra readies India’s first land tokenisation framework: Fadnavis | India News

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday said the state is preparing the architecture of the Maharashtra Digitisation and Exchange of Land Token Asset Act, or DELTA Act, as it seeks to become India’s first tokenised state.

Speaking at the Global Fintech Fest 2026 in Mumbai, Fadnavis said the proposed legislation would create a legal framework for the blockchain-based tokenisation of land and other immovable assets. “We have prepared the DELTA Act,” Fadnavis said, adding that a committee had been formed to undertake a comprehensive review of the proposed legislation, PTI reported.

The initiative is expected to make land records easier to access and verify while creating a framework to potentially unlock the value of land and other immovable assets. Fadnavis said the government was bringing together expertise from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), the National Stock Exchange (NSE), the BSE, industry, technology, law and academia to ensure the framework was developed carefully. If enacted, Maharashtra would become the first state in the country to establish such a legislative framework, Fadnavis said.

What does the DELTA Act aim to achieve?

Once enacted, the law would allow ordinary citizens to realise the value of their land and other assets and potentially create liquidity from them, Fadnavis said.

He linked the initiative to India’s broader shift towards digital financial transactions, saying new technologies and modes of virtual payments had accelerated the transition to digital payments. “We are trying to take Maharashtra to the next level through this initiative,” the chief minister said.

Fadnavis stressed that a transformation of this scale would require safeguards alongside technological innovation. “Innovation at this scale must be accompanied by legal certainty, consumer protection and regulatory trust,” he said, adding that operationalising the Act “requires a significant collaboration between the Government of India, institutions and the Government of Maharashtra”, CNBC TV18 reported.

The DELTA Act announcement was part of the chief minister’s broader pitch to position Maharashtra as a large-scale testing ground for financial technologies spanning artificial intelligence (AI), tokenisation and blockchain.

Positioning Mumbai as an emerging global financial technology centre, Fadnavis said the future of finance was increasingly moving beyond traditional financial hubs such as New York, London and Singapore. “Mumbai should become the city where the future of global finance is designed,” Fadnavis said. “The next great global fintech company can be born in Mumbai, the next breakthrough in responsible financial AI can be built here.”

During the event, Fadnavis also handed over lease deeds for plots in Mumbai’s Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC) to Sebi, the NSE and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for their expansion in the city’s corporate hub.