Background and Regulatory Context
The securities market ecosystem in India encompasses a broad and interconnected network of market infrastructure institutions (“MIIs”), qualified registrar and transfer agents (“QRTAs”), stock exchanges, depositories, clearing corporations, mutual funds, portfolio managers, and other intermediaries.
The inherent interdependency among these participants creates a systemic vulnerability: a cyber breach at any one node may propagate cascading consequences across the entire market infrastructure. It is against this backdrop that NCCL and SEBI have issued their respective communications.
The SEBI circular expressly invokes SEBI’s statutory authority under Section 11(1) of the Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992, to protect investor interests and regulate the orderly functioning of securities markets.