Are you stuck with unsold land as an asset? Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani has a trading solution for you

Infosys co-founder and Aadhaar architect Nandan Nilekani shared a thought-provoking solution for millions of landowners across India who find themselves stuck with land that cannot be easily sold or used as collateral.

According to Nilekani, 50% of the assets owned by Indians are in the form of land, but much of it is non-tradable—land that cannot be sold, cannot be leveraged for loans, and remains a dormant asset in the hands of its owners.

“This land is an asset, but you cannot do anything with it,” Nilekani said. “You can’t sell it, you can’t take a loan against it. It’s like an asset that’s there, but it’s just sitting there, unable to be utilized.”


But Nilekani believes there is a way to unlock the vast potential tied up in these land assets. His proposal centers around the tokenisation of land, a process that would digitize land titles and make them tradable on a ledger, much like financial assets such as stocks or bonds.


“We believe that tokenisation of land assets, using a proper ledger, can unlock these things,” Nilekani explained.

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How tokenisation of land could turbocharge the economy

By tokenizing each piece of land, it would become easy to trade and even use as collateral for loans. This would open up a new realm of possibilities for landowners, allowing them to either sell their land or get a loan against it, thereby gaining access to much-needed capital for business ventures or other investments.

However, Nilekani was quick to point out that land is a state subject in India.

This means the tokenisation process would depend heavily on individual states’ willingness to implement the necessary reforms, such as improving property registration systems, updating property taxes, and ensuring clear title systems.

These reforms, Nilekani emphasised, would need to be tailored to each state’s specific needs and legal frameworks.

“The number of things have to happen at each state level,” Nilekani said. “As more states realize the power of tokenisation, more states will tokenize their land, and that will allow more and more people who own land to offer their land. They can either sell it or get a loan against it and use that to start a business.”

Nilekani concluded by noting that the tokenisation of land assets represents a significant “unlock,” offering a chance for millions of landowners to transform their land into an active and valuable economic resource.

This innovation, he believes, could dramatically improve financial access for countless individuals, particularly those in rural areas where land ownership is widespread but often underutilized.

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