Sebi sets up working group to frame technology roadmap for market infrastructure

Market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has constituted a Working Group to frame short-term (five-year) and long-term (ten-year) technology roadmap for Market Infrastructure Institutions (MIIs), as the regulator looks to future-proof India’s securities market amid rapid technological change.

The Working Group will be chaired by Dr D B Phatak, Professor Emeritus at IIT Bombay. It comprises chairpersons of the Standing Committee on Technology (SCOT) of MIIs, senior officials from stock brokers and registrars and transfer agents (RTAs), as well as experts from the technology and securities market ecosystem.

The move comes against the backdrop of the growing role of digital systems in market operations, surveillance, risk management, investor protection and regulatory oversight. Sebi said the Working Group will take a holistic and forward-looking view on the adoption of emerging technologies by MIIs, including artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML), distributed ledger technology, cloud computing, SupTech and RegTech solutions, tokenisation and quantum-safe systems.

Sebi said the initiative is aimed at ensuring that the Indian securities market remains resilient, future-ready and globally competitive, while aligning with India’s long-term vision of a digitally empowered and developed economy.

The proposed technology roadmap is expected to guide MIIs such as stock exchanges, clearing corporations and depositories in strengthening their technological capabilities and regulatory preparedness over the coming decade.

In another major development, the securities market watchdog allowed stock brokers to undertake activities under the regulatory framework of other financial regulators, a move aimed at improving ease of doing business. The decision forms part of Sebi’s revamped stock brokers’ regulations notified on Thursday, marking a comprehensive overhaul of norms that were more than 30 years old.

Stock brokers and clearing members will now be regulated by Sebi (Stock Brokers) Regulations 2026 (SB Regulation) which has now replaced Sebi’s (Stock Brokers) Regulations 1992.Read more: Sebi notifies revamped stock brokers’ rules as part of ease of doing business

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