SEBI's New Index for Market Infrastructure Institutions (Economy)
SEBI's New Index for Market Infrastructure Institutions (Economy)
Why In News:
SEBI (Securities and Exchange Board of India) unveiled a new index tracking Market Infrastructure Institutions (MIIs).
About the Index
SEBI introduced the IT Resilience Index (ITRI) framework on 24 August 2026 to assess and strengthen the technological resilience of Market Infrastructure Institutions (MIIs) such as stock exchanges, depositories and clearing corporations.
100-Point Index: The system-driven index will evaluate MIIs twice a year across nine parameters related to IT resilience and operational stability.
Parameter Weightage: Availability and Security carry the highest weight of 20% each, while Integrity, Governance, Reliability & Monitoring, Business Continuity, and Modularity & Flexibility carry 10% each; Scalability and other parameters carry 5% each.
What are Market Infrastructure Institutions?
Market Infrastructure Institutions (MIIs) form the core infrastructure of India's securities market and facilitate the trading, clearing, settlement and holding of securities.
They broadly comprise Stock Exchanges, Clearing Corporations and Depositories, each performing a distinct function in ensuring an efficient and stable capital market.
Major examples include NSE and BSE as stock exchanges, NSCCL and ICCL as clearing corporations, and NSDL and CDSL as depositories.
Key Functions of MIIs include:
Stock Exchanges: Provide an organised and transparent platform for buying and selling securities, enabling price discovery and liquidity.
Clearing Corporations: Function as central counterparties (CCPs) between buyers and sellers, guaranteeing settlement and reducing counterparty risk.
Depositories: Hold securities in electronic/dematerialised form, facilitating their transfer and reducing risks associated with physical certificates.
MIIs and India's Capital-Market Architecture
The growing importance of MIIs is linked to India's rapidly expanding equity and derivatives markets and the transition towards faster settlement systems such as T+1, alongside the introduction of T+0 settlement.
SEBI, established under the SEBI Act, 1992, is India's statutory securities-market regulator and is responsible for investor protection and regulation and development of the securities market.
FSDC, chaired by the Union Finance Minister, provides coordination among financial-sector regulators, including RBI, SEBI, IRDAI and PFRDA, and can use market-infrastructure resilience as an important input for assessing broader financial stability.