IITian vs IITian: Zoho’s Sridhar Vembu fears Nandan Nilekani's plan for selling unsold land could ruin your lives

Recently, Infosys co-founder, Nandan Nilekani, highlighted that 50% of Indians' assets are land, much of it non-tradable—unable to be sold or used as loan collateral. This leaves landowners with dormant assets. He proposes “tokenisation of land”, digitising titles to make them tradable on a ledger, like stocks or bonds. This would unlock wealth, enabling easier transactions and financial leverage. By making land a liquid asset, Nilekani envisions greater economic mobility for millions of landowners across India. However, Sridhar Vembu, the founder of Zoho Corporation, who is currently the Chief Scientist at the company, is afraid of making land a liquid asset as it may affect the vulnerable individuals.

Taking to X, he pointed out how liquidating land as an asset can go wrong. He believes that the idea of tokenizing land assets to unlock wealth is based on the belief that making every asset liquid and tradeable always creates value. This essentially means turning all assets into something more like money.

Sridhar Vembu, alumnus of IIT-Madras, calls this belief “seductive” —after all, making assets easier to buy and sell seems beneficial. However, increasing the liquidity of all assets can lead to extreme wealth concentration. He cited an example of someone struggling with gambling or addiction who would quickly sell parts of their home or land to fund their habits. He added that this isn’t unrealistic. Companies would likely emerge, offering instant cash in exchange for land or home tokens, making it easy for people to sell their assets impulsively. History has shown that finance needs careful regulation. When left unchecked, it can lead to serious problems, even ruin.

What does Nandan Nilekani think of liquidating land assets?

Nandan Nilekani, an alum of IIT-Bombay, believes that tokenizing land would make it easier to trade and use as loan collateral, giving landowners access to capital for businesses and investments. However, land is a state subject in India, meaning tokenization depends on state-level reforms like better property registration, updated taxes, and clear titles. Nandan Nilekani stressed that each state must tailor reforms to its needs. As more states adopt tokenization, more landowners could sell or leverage their land, unlocking economic opportunities and financial growth.