The new framework will assess the tech resilience of stock exchanges, clearing corporations, and depositories, with system-driven monitoring expected to become fully operational by February 2027.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has introduced an IT Resilience Index (ITR) for market infrastructure institutions (MIIs), placing greater regulatory focus on the technology systems that support India’s securities markets. The framework applies to stock exchanges, clearing corporations and depositories.
SEBI said the move is intended to provide a structured way of monitoring the health, reliability, and resilience of critical IT systems, which are central to the uninterrupted functioning of financial markets. The regulator’s decision follows a consultation paper issued in March 2026 and discussions with its Technical Advisory Committee.
Nine parameters for measuring IT Resilience.
The IT Resilience Index will assess market infrastructure across nine parameters, with a total score of 100. Availability and security carry the highest weightage at 20 points each. Other areas include integrity, governance, reliability and monitoring, business continuity, and modularity and flexibility. Scalability and incident handling also form part of the assessment.
Rather than relying heavily on manual reporting, SEBI has stipulated that the index should be generated through a system-driven process. Data is expected to be automatically drawn from relevant IT systems, making the assessment more consistent and reducing the scope for discretionary reporting.
Early warning systems to track technology risks.
The framework goes beyond producing a periodic score. MIIs will also be required to establish an Early Warning System capable of identifying deterioration in individual resilience parameters before it develops into a larger operational problem.
They will also need consolidated dashboards to provide ongoing visibility into service delivery and identify anomalies in their technology environments. The Industry Standards Forum of MIIs has been tasked with finalising detailed sub-parameters, measurement criteria, baseline thresholds and a standard scoring methodology by November 30, 2026. This is expected to create a common basis for assessing IT resilience across institutions. MIIs will calculate the index every six months and complete the assessment within 60 days after each half-year period. Comparative analysis and proposed corrective measures must also be submitted to their Standing Committee on Technology and Governing Board.
SEBI has set February 28, 2027, as the deadline for the full ITRI framework, including real-time monitoring and the Early Warning System, to become operational. The first formal submission will cover the half-year ending March 31, 2027.
