SEBI Introduces IT Resilience Index to Strengthen India’s Market Infrastructure

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has introduced a new IT Resilience Index (ITRI) framework for market infrastructure institutions, tightening technology and operational standards for stock exchanges, clearing corporations and depositories.

The new framework is aimed at making the technology systems supporting India’s securities market more reliable, secure and capable of handling disruptions. SEBI said these IT systems are central to the smooth functioning of the securities market, and any major outage, security breach or performance problem could affect market operations and investor confidence.

Under the framework, market infrastructure institutions will be assessed on a 100-point IT Resilience Index. The index covers nine areas, with availability and security receiving the highest weightage of 20 points each. Integrity, governance, reliability and monitoring, business continuity, and modularity and flexibility will carry 10 points each. Scalability and other areas, including incident handling, will account for five points each.

The index will not be based on occasional manual assessments. SEBI has directed institutions to make the calculation system-driven, meaning scores should be generated automatically from their IT systems or data taken from those systems. The regulator said this approach is intended to reduce discretion and make the assessment more consistent across institutions.

Market infrastructure institutions will calculate the index twice a year, within 60 days after the end of each half-year. They will also have to compare their latest score with the previous period and report corrective measures to their Standing Committee on Technology and governing board.

A key part of the new framework is an Early Warning System. The system will be designed to identify deterioration in important IT parameters before it develops into a larger performance problem, system slowdown or service disruption. Institutions will also have to provide continuous visibility into their services through consolidated dashboards that can track system performance, service continuity and unusual activity.

For investors, the move is important because modern stock market operations depend heavily on technology. Trading, clearing, settlement, data delivery and other market services need to function continuously, particularly during periods of heavy trading or market stress. A technology failure can therefore become a market-wide issue rather than remaining an internal IT problem.

SEBI has already indicated that market infrastructure institutions have implemented a beta version of the ITRI framework. The full framework, including the Early Warning System and real-time monitoring of service delivery, must be operational by 28 February 2027. The Industry Standards Forum of market infrastructure institutions will finalise the detailed sub-parameters and measurement criteria by 30 November 2026.

The first formal ITRI submission will cover the half-year ending 31 March 2027. The move signals a stronger focus on technology resilience as India’s capital markets become increasingly dependent on digital systems and real-time infrastructure.

For the wider financial sector, the framework could also push exchanges, clearing corporations and depositories to invest more heavily in cybersecurity, monitoring, business continuity and technology upgrades. For investors, the immediate impact may not be visible in daily trading, but stronger infrastructure could reduce the risk of technology-related disruptions across the securities market.