September did much of the heavy lifting for India’s corporate bond market. Companies raised ₹1.21 trillion during the month, nearly twice as much as a year earlier, lifting issuance in the first half of 2026-27 to ₹4.35 trillion. That left the six-month total just 2.2% below the same period last year.

The near-flat headline conceals an uneven half. Issuance started slowly in April, climbed to ₹1 trillion in June, then lost momentum through July and August. September’s rebound accounted for nearly 28% of the entire half-year total.

Source: 91bps analysis of BSE and NSE corporate bond issuance data

It was a busy month by more than one measure. September recorded 215 deals from 133 issuers, both the highest monthly counts in the first half. The wider participation suggests the rebound extended beyond a handful of large transactions.

Large deals nevertheless set the pace for the half as a whole. Issues of at least ₹10 billion made up just 15% of the 798 deals but accounted for more than two-thirds of the amount raised. At the other end, 278 issues below ₹1 billion contributed less than 3% of issuance. The average deal size was ₹5.4 billion, more than three times the median of ₹1.5 billion.

The biggest borrowers also held a larger share of the market. The top 10 issuers raised about ₹2 trillion, or 46% of first-half issuance, up from about 35% a year earlier. Bajaj Finance led with ₹289.2 billion, followed by REC and the Small Industries Development Bank of India. Reliance Industries raised ₹250 billion in just two deals.

High-grade borrowers continued to dominate. AAA-rated bonds accounted for nearly three-quarters of issuance, while AAA and AA bonds together made up about 93%. That left a relatively small share for lower-rated borrowers, whose funding costs were substantially higher.

Maturities told a more changeable story. Bonds of up to five years accounted for about 60% of issuance over the half, extending a shift towards shorter debt seen in the previous financial year. But longer-dated issuance picked up late: bonds with maturities of at least five years made up 54% of August’s smaller total and 48% of September’s.

The first half, then, ended close to last year’s issuance level, but reached it by a different route: a late surge, wider activity in September and continued reliance on large, highly rated borrowers. The test for the second half is whether September’s pace and breadth can hold without another rush of jumbo deals.