Markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has outlined a technology roadmap for market infrastructure institutions (MIIs) to strengthen the technological architecture of the securities market and foster confidence among stakeholders, chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey said on Friday.
“Sebi is in the process of constituting a working group to develop a technology roadmap for market infrastructure institutions,” said Pandey, while speaking at the celebration event of 40 years of the BSE Sensex in Mumbai.
He added that the roadmap will provide MIIs a structured five-year and 10-year strategic technology vision for the securities market ecosystem. He also urged other MIIs and market institutions to continue investing in technology, risk management and cyber resilience, ensuring that innovation strengthens market integrity.
Decade of Vision
Pandey further said that the new guidelines to strengthen broad governance, including norms relating to the appointment of key directors and clear reporting lines for key management personnel aim to ensure institutional governance remains robust and credible. Sebi has mandated external independent performance evaluations of market infrastructure institutions and their statutory committees once every three years, in addition to internal evaluations.
“The Chief Technology Officer and Chief Information Security Officer will report to the ED of vertical one, which is the critical operations, who will report to the governing board of the MII every quarter, and I believe BSE has issued the advertisements of EDs today as to the new guidelines,” Pandey said on the new governance guidelines.
Governance & Capital
Regarding the next phase of market development, the Sebi chief said it will be defined by quality and sophistication, not just scale, and the key priorities include strengthening of corporate governance standards, promoting sustainable finance and long-term value creation and encouraging innovation. He added that investor protection will be at the centre, along with responsible use of technology and data in market operations and supervision.
The regulator has also proposed a phased rollout of a new net worth requirement for existing merchant bankers, stepping up risk management of the country’s booming initial public offering market.
The proposed timeline is part of Sebi’s overhaul of rules announced in December for bankers managing fund raises and deals, requiring them to maintain a liquid net worth of at least 25% of the minimum net worth requirement at all times. Sensex has stood the test of time: Sebi chief
On BSE Sensex celebrating 40 years, Pandey said, “Over the last four decades, the Sensex has stood the test of time as a robust market indicator, mirroring India’s economic transformation and the growing maturity of our capital markets.” He added that the journey of Sensex is inseparable from the evolution of India’s broader market infrastructure.