Sebi unveils IT Resilience Index to strengthen market infrastructure oversight

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has announced the introduction of an IT Resilience Index (ITRI) to evaluate the strength and functionality of information technology systems across market infrastructure institutions (MIIs). The new assessment tool represents an effort to tighten regulatory oversight and proactively detect technological vulnerabilities before they can impact market operations.

The ITRI will be calculated using nine standardized parameters, each assigned specific weightage to enable consistent comparison across different market institutions. Availability and security have been designated as the most critical factors, each accounting for 20 per cent of the overall index. These are followed by integrity, governance, reliability, monitoring, business continuity, and modularity and flexibility, each weighted at 10 per cent. Scalability and incident handling capabilities together constitute the remaining 5 per cent.

According to Sebi's circular, the framework is designed to strengthen the regulator's ability to monitor the digital resilience of exchanges, depositories and clearing corporations. By establishing a uniform measurement system, the index will help identify emerging technological weaknesses across the sector and enable timely intervention through corrective measures.

The move reflects growing regulatory focus on safeguarding India's financial market infrastructure against technology disruptions. As market institutions increasingly depend on digital systems, regulators recognize the need for systematic assessment protocols to maintain stability and investor confidence in the securities markets.