Rising Defaults Spark Rules That Drag Bond Sales To 2008 Low Rising Defaults Spark Rules That Drag Bond Sales To 2008 Low Firms defaulted on at least Rs 5,200 crore of domestic bonds so far this year, the most on record for a similar period. Updated: April 19, 2021 6:41 pm IST Rising defaults have prompted India to tighten oversight of corporate bond sales, causing issuance to slump in a blow to a long-sought goal of expanding the market. Promoted Offerings of rupee notes have fallen to Rs 4,380 crore ($584 million) this month, the slowest start to a financial year since 2008. That's due in part to rules that took effect April 1 strengthening the role of trustees for secured bonds backed by assets. Such offerings have made up about 60 per cent of India's total domestic issuance in the last 10 years.