Electronic Trading Platform Operators must maintain confidential, secure, controlled access to all activity-related data and retain it in readily retrievable form for at least eight years. Separate retention periods apply to data sought in Authority investigations and investigations by other agencies under applicable law. Following cancellation or surrender of registration, an operator may be directed to share all platform-activity data with the Authority or another specified agency.

Electronic Trading Platform Operators must appoint a compliance officer responsible for ensuring the operator's compliance with applicable regulatory requirements. The appointment allocates responsibility for regulatory adherence to a designated officer in connection with electronic trading platform activities. The compliance officer is charged with ensuring observance of those applicable requirements by the operator.

Electronic Trading Platform Operators must comply with cyber security and cyber resilience requirements specified by the Authority from time to time. The obligation is continuing and applies under Regulation 17 of the International Financial Services Centres Authority (Electronic Trading Platforms) Regulations, 2026.

Electronic Trading Platform Operators must establish and maintain a business continuity plan and a disaster recovery site. The arrangements must protect data and transaction integrity and ensure continuity of operations.

Electronic Trading Platform Operators facilitating clearing and settlement through an electronic system must maintain satisfactory arrangements for timely discharge of transaction rights and liabilities, and disclose the arrangements and changes to Participants. Such arrangements must be made with an entity approved in advance by the Authority. Operators intending to provide clearing or settlement of funds must obtain prior authorisation as a payment system operator before offering those services.

Electronic Trading Platform Operators must maintain risk-management systems, participant access controls, resilient trading systems, order-threshold controls, trading halts for significant price movements, and error-trade management procedures. They must prevent and report Market Abuse. Algorithmic Trading System access requires disclosure to other Participants, prior testing to protect normal platform operations, and adequately trained and qualified personnel.

Electronic Trading Platform operators must maintain a board-approved operating policy that is fair, transparent, non-discriminatory, legally binding and enforceable against participants. It must address participant onboarding, suspension and termination, operator responsibilities, breach liability, platform-use conditions, order execution, risk controls, and complaint and dispute mechanisms. Material changes affecting contractual performance must be promptly intimated to the Competent Authority. Operators must ensure participant compliance, correct policy deficiencies promptly, and publish the policy and its changes on their official website.

Trading on an Electronic Trading Platform is confined to Eligible Instruments specified under clause (a) of sub-regulation (2) of regulation 5. The Electronic Trading Platform Operator must permit trading only in that prescribed category, making instrument eligibility a mandatory condition for products made available for trading on the platform.

Platform operators must apply objective, fair, transparent and non-discriminatory criteria for participant admission. They must conduct due diligence on an applicant's reputation, competence, experience, and organisational, financial and technological capacity. Each participant must be uniquely identified through a Legal Entity Identifier, Permanent Account Number, or equivalent document. Resident Indian persons may participate where applicable law permits eligible instrument transactions outside India.

Electronic Trading Platform operators must maintain transparent trading rules, objective order-execution criteria, tradable-instrument eligibility criteria, and a conflict-of-interest policy. They must provide publicly available information, screen-based trade execution or submission, secure participant connectivity, sound technical operations and business continuity. Real-time surveillance of prices, volumes and positions, defined investigation, escalation and regulatory-reporting procedures, real-time dissemination of trade, quantity and quote information, and grievance redressal are required. Settlement-related disputes are governed by applicable laws and Operating Policy.

Electronic Trading Platform Operators must continuously maintain the prescribed minimum net worth, with branch operators maintaining it with their parent. A higher requirement may be specified according to business nature and scale. Operators must submit an audited net-worth certificate within six months after each financial year closes and must immediately rectify and report any net-worth shortfall within fifteen days.

An Electronic Trading Platform Operator may apply to surrender its registration in the specified form and manner. The Authority may permit surrender, subject to appropriate conditions, if it is satisfied that the surrender is unlikely to materially adversely affect the financial services market in the International Financial Services Centre or the interests of Participants. Surrender takes effect only upon the Authority's acceptance.

Registration of an Electronic Trading Platform Operator may be suspended or cancelled for breach of certificate conditions, applicable regulations, or an Authority order or direction, or where operations prejudice Participants' interests. The operator must be given a reasonable opportunity to be heard through written submissions before a suspension or cancellation order is issued.

Before refusing registration, the Authority must communicate application deficiencies and allow thirty days for rectification, subject to permitted extensions. Extensions beyond ninety days require the Chairperson's permission and recorded reasons, with a maximum period of one hundred and eighty days. If deficiencies remain unrectified, refusal must be reasoned and preceded by a reasonable opportunity to file written submissions. A fresh registration application may be made six months after communication of refusal.

Registration of an Electronic Trading Platform Operator requires in-principle approval where the applicant prima facie fulfils registration conditions. Such approval may include additional conditions and may be revoked if those conditions are not fulfilled to the Authority's satisfaction. Final registration is granted upon fulfilment of all requirements, specifies eligible instruments and participant categories, and remains subject to continuing conditions until cancellation or surrender.

Registration of an electronic trading platform depends on assessment of the applicant's track record, management expertise, financial soundness, staffing capacity, risk-management systems, internal controls, net-worth capacity, and viable business plan. Directors, Key Managerial Personnel and natural persons ultimately owning, controlling or significantly influencing the applicant must satisfy fit and proper criteria throughout the validity of registration.

Registration as an Electronic Trading Platform Operator is required for operation of an Electronic Trading Platform in the IFSC, subject to exemptions for specified IFSC Banking Units and offshore platform operators serving IFSC entities. Eligible applicants include IFSC-incorporated companies, branches in the IFSC of platform operators from eligible jurisdictions, and IFSC financial institutions subject to specified terms and conditions. Applications must be made to the Authority in the prescribed form and manner with the prescribed fee.

Electronic Trading Platforms in an IFSC facilitate regular participant offers to buy, sell or exchange eligible instruments and may enable their clearing and settlement. Eligible Instruments include securities, money market instruments, foreign exchange, derivatives and comparable specified instruments, including certain Indian-rupee-denominated instruments settled in foreign currency. Market Abuse covers manual or algorithmic conduct intended to disadvantage participants, distort pricing, or create artificial supply and demand. Net Worth is calculated from specified capital and reserves, subject to prescribed exclusions and conditions for compulsorily convertible preference shares.

Electronic trading platforms in International Financial Services Centres are addressed through the International Financial Services Centres Authority (Electronic Trading Platforms) Regulations, 2026. The regulations are made under powers conferred by the International Financial Services Centres Authority Act, 2019, and the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934, and come into force on and from publication in the Official Gazette.

Every IIO must maintain a Board-approved investment policy, value assets and liabilities, preserve solvency, and hold investment assets at least equal to liabilities while matching their nature, duration, currency and uncertainty. Investment assets must generally satisfy investment-grade asset and sovereign-rating criteria, comply with asset-class and concentration limits, remain free from encumbrances, and be subject to independent due diligence, risk monitoring, internal controls, audits and prescribed reporting. Exceeding exposure limits or a downgrade below investment grade requires additional capital as specified.