Sebi forms working group on technology roadmap for market infrastructure institutions

New Delhi, Jan 8 (PTI) Markets regulator Sebi on Thursday said it has constituted a high-level working group to draw up a comprehensive technology roadmap for Market Infrastructure Institutions (MIIs), covering both short-term (five-year) and long-term (10-year) strategies.

Market infrastructure institutions comprise stock exchanges, clearing corporations and depositories.

In a statement, Sebi said the Group has been set up against the backdrop of rapid technological changes and the growing dependence on digital systems across market operations, surveillance, risk management, investor protection and regulatory oversight.

Taking a holistic and future-oriented approach, the working group will evaluate the adoption of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning, distributed ledger technology, cloud computing, SupTech and RegTech solutions, tokenisation and quantum-safe systems by MIIs.

The group will be chaired by D B Phatak, Professor Emeritus at IIT Bombay, and will include the chairpersons of the Standing Committee on Technology (SCOT) of MIIs, senior officials from stock broking firms, and registrars and transfer agents (RTAs), as well as technology and capital market experts.

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

In December, Sebi chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey said that the regulator is looking to constitute a working group to identify the next technological frontier for stock exchanges.

The group would focus on how exchange technology should evolve over the next 5-10 years, benchmark global best practices, and develop new methods to strengthen market infrastructure, he had stated.

The technological frontier refers to the application of cutting-edge technologies to enhance market oversight, improve operational efficiency and strengthen investor protection. PTI SP HVA