NSE to introduce IRRA platform to address technical glitches, outages

To address technical glitches or outages, the National Stock Exchange will introduce an Investor Risk Reduction Access (IRRA) platform for trading members.

In December last year, Sebi asked stock exchanges and clearing corporations to put in place a platform to help investors in case there is a disruption of services caused by systems belonging to trading members. The regulator asked them to make the platform operational by October 1.

The IRRA platform will be available to trading members supporting internet-based trading (IBT) and Security Trading through Wireless Technology (STWT) for their investors. However, it will not be accessible for algo trading and institutional clients.

The IRRA will be accessible to trading members across exchanges starting from October 3, 2023, according to an NSE circular.

"To ensure seamless business continuity, trading members (TMs) are advised to maintain an updated disaster recovery (DR) site.

"However, if both the primary and disaster recovery sites are affected and regular business cannot be conducted, affected trading members' or investors can exit or square off their outstanding positions using a common platform under the guidelines of IRRA, jointly provided by all exchanges," it added.

According to the NSE, trading members who do not need to maintain a disaster recovery site as per Sebi's eligibility criteria can request to avail the platform whenever their primary site is unavailable.

The exchange also recommended keeping their clients' contact details (mobile numbers and email IDs) updated in the UCC (unique client code) system of the exchanges as this information will be used for investor login authorisation on the platform.

The platform also provides the members access to an admin terminal, allowing them to monitor their investors' actions and the latter will help them to place square-off orders or cancel pending orders on behalf of its investors or for proprietary accounts, NSE said.

It that the terminal requires a stable internet connection to access the IRRA platform which ensures that the brokers can make timely decisions and execute their orders efficiently, it added.