The central bank is working with over a dozen leading lenders, including HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, and State Bank of India, to operate a blockchain-based pilot project focused on trade financing. If effective, it might help avoid loan fraud by fugitive borrowers like Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi, who gamed the system to syphon off thousands of crores of rupees.

According to three persons familiar with the situation, Belgium-based SettleMint, US-based Corda Technologies, and IBM will offer technology support for the project led by the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) Innovation Hub in Bangalore. Bank of Baroda NSE 3.63 percent, Axis Bank NSE 0.74 percent, and