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SEBI Discontinues IRRA Platform Amid Improved Trading Tech Resilience

SEBI has discontinued the Investor Risk Reduction Access (IRRA) platform with immediate effect, citing its redundancy. The platform, launched in December 2022, was meant to provide brokers alternative trading access during system disruptions. However, stock exchanges reported it went unused since October 2023 due to improved technological resilience. SEBI has directed exchanges to strengthen the Contingency Pool Trading facility as an alternative mechanism.

Key Points: SEBI Scraps IRRA Platform as Tech Upgrades Make It Redundant

  • SEBI discontinues IRRA platform with immediate effect
  • Platform unused by brokers since October 2023
  • IRRA introduced in 2022 as backup for trading disruptions
  • Improved BCP-DR, cybersecurity, and M-SoC made it redundant
2 min read

SEBI discontinues IRRA platform with immediate effect amid tech upgrades

SEBI discontinues Investor Risk Reduction Access (IRRA) platform, citing redundancy due to stronger cybersecurity, BCP-DR norms, and improved trading infrastructure.

"A combination of stronger regulatory measures, technological upgrades, and the availability of alternative mechanisms had rendered the platform unnecessary. - SEBI"

New Delhi, May 7

Market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India on Thursday discontinued the Investor Risk Reduction Access platform with immediate effect, citing its redundancy amid improved technological resilience in the trading ecosystem.

In a circular, SEBI said stock exchanges had informed the regulator that the IRRA platform had not been used by brokers since it became operational in October 2023.

The regulator noted that a combination of stronger regulatory measures, technological upgrades, and the availability of alternative mechanisms had rendered the platform unnecessary.

The IRRA framework was originally introduced in December 2022 to provide brokers with an alternative access point for trading in case of disruptions in their systems.

However, SEBI said subsequent developments have significantly enhanced operational continuity, reducing the need for such a backup platform.

According to the regulator, stock exchanges unanimously recommended discontinuing the platform after assessing its utility.

SEBI added that brokers now rely on improved systems, including robust business continuity and disaster recovery (BCP-DR) norms, enhanced cybersecurity and resilience frameworks, and the implementation of the Market Security Operations Centre (M-SoC).

The regulator also highlighted advancements in brokers' trading infrastructure, such as seamless switching between primary and alternate sites, along with the emergence of independent "cold sites" that ensure uninterrupted operations during technical disruptions.

While scrapping the IRRA platform, SEBI has directed stock exchanges to review and further strengthen the Contingency Pool Trading facility, which continues to serve as an alternative mechanism during disruptions.

Meanwhile, earlier this week, the market regulator directed index providers of 'significant indices' to register with it within six months under the Index Provider Regulations to foster transparency and accountability in governance and administration of Indices.

However, index providers whose indices are notified by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) as 'significant benchmarks' or 'authorised benchmarks' are exempt.

- IANS

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Reader Comments

P
Priya S
Interesting timing - discontinuing IRRA while also tightening index provider rules. Seems like SEBI is streamlining regulations while also adding new layers where needed. The Contingency Pool Trading facility still being there is reassuring though. Better to have one backup that works than two that don't.
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Tanya I
IRRA was supposed to be a safety net for broker outages, but I guess technology has moved fast enough to make it obsolete. Cold sites and seamless switching - that's what we need. Still, I hope SEBI keeps monitoring whether smaller brokers actually have these systems in place, not just the big ones.
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Rahul R
As a retail investor, I'm more concerned about the index provider registration rule. Finally some transparency in how those indices are managed! MSCI and others have been operating in a grey area for too long. RBI-exempt ones are fine, but the rest need accountability. Good move by SEBI.
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Vikram M
Honestly, I didn't even know IRRA existed until now! Shows how irrelevant it was. But let's not get complacent - technology upgrades are great until they fail. Hope the Contingency Pool Trading facility is actually tested, not just sitting on paper. Remember the NSE glitch in 2021? We need real resilience, not regulatory box-ticking.
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Michael C
From a tech perspective, this makes sense. I work in fintech, and the improvements in cloud infrastructure and failover mechanisms over the last two years are massive. But SEBI should publish data on broker compliance with BCP-DR norms - are all 1400+ brokers actually meeting the standards? That's the real test.

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