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Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI)
On January 8, 2026, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) constituted a high-level Working Group to develop a comprehensive Technology Roadmap for Market Infrastructure Institutions (MIIs). Recognizing that the stability and resilience of the Indian capital markets are increasingly dependent on advanced technology, SEBI aims to standardize and future-proof the systems used by stock exchanges, clearing corporations, and depositories.
The Working Group’s mandate includes several critical focus areas:
Technological Resilience: Establishing benchmarks for system uptime, disaster recovery (DR) mechanisms, and business continuity planning to handle unprecedented trading volumes.
Cybersecurity Framework: Strengthening the defense against sophisticated cyber-attacks and ensuring the integrity of market data and investor assets.
Adoption of Emerging Tech: Creating a structured path for integrating Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), and Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) into core market operations.
Standardization of Interfaces: Streamlining technological interfaces between different MIIs to enhance operational efficiency and reduce systemic latency.
What is a Market Infrastructure Institution (MII)? In the context of the Indian securities market, an MII is a critical entity that provides the essential “pipes and wires” for trading. This includes Stock Exchanges (where buying/selling happens), Depositories (where securities are held in electronic form), and Clearing Corporations (which guarantee the settlement of trades). Because these institutions are systemic to the economy, any technological failure in one can lead to a “domino effect,” making their technological roadmap a vital national security interest.
Policy Relevance
The formation of this group marks a shift from reactive oversight to a proactive, long-term technological strategy for India’s financial backbone, aligning with the “Digital India” and “Viksit Bharat” agendas.
Strategic Impact for India:
Global Competitive Edge: By standardizing high-end technology, SEBI aims to make Indian markets more attractive to foreign institutional investors (FIIs) who prioritize execution speed and system reliability.
Investor Protection: Enhanced technological resilience directly translates to fewer trading glitches and technical “halts,” which often result in financial losses for retail investors.
Scalability for T+0 Settlement: As India leads the world in shortening settlement cycles (moving toward T+0 and instant settlement), a robust tech roadmap is mandatory to manage the increased real-time processing load.
Mitigating Systemic Risk: Centralizing the technology standards for MIIs ensures that no single institution becomes a “weak link” in the national financial infrastructure.
Relevant Question for Policy Stakeholders: How will SEBI ensure that the new technology benchmarks do not impose prohibitive compliance costs on smaller MIIs, potentially stifling competition and consolidating market power among the largest incumbents?
Follow the full news here: SEBI Constitutes Working Group on Technology Roadmap for Market Infrastructure Institutions (MIIs)